my version of breaking dawn
by TeeshaJanie
Summary: this is my version of what could of happened in breaking dawn... no nessie
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer_

I do not own any of the titles, characters, etc.  
They belong to Stephenie Meyer and I thank her for letting me use them.  
This is not the real version of Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer; this is just a fan fic.

_Provision For The End_

_What to do when  
The dawn brings night  
And the moon spins out  
And the stars fall white?_

Wait calm in the silence  
The black sky spilled:  
Your lamp will light--  
If it is filled.

Carol Lynn Pearson


	2. Chapter 2

Preface

I watched in horror as my family, friends, and enemies fought in the clearing.  
It was a three-sided battle, a battle that only one could win. And no matter who won, I would lose someone I loved. It was like the battle in the meadow all over again. But now I had a choice, a choice I couldn't make. I could now help determine the outcome of the battle, but how could I choose between two people I loved?  
But if I didn't choose then they would both die. There was no way I could save everyone. I only had one life to sacrifice and only two options: A life of pain or no life at all.  
I knew I had to choose, but I had to choose quickly. Time was running out.  
Who would I die for?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 1: Missing

We pulled up in front of the Cullen's house in Edward's Volvo.  
Alice had called, saying she had an idea for the wedding and she wanted to tell me in person. So, I had grabbed my jacket and went out in the rain, with Edward by my side. He had opened the car door for me and was in his seat before I had my seatbelt on.

I was glad that Charlie hadn't been home, imagining his reaction to me telling him that I was going over to the Cullen's place to make wedding plans with Alice. Charlie hadn't been very happy with my decision to marry so soon. When I had told him that Edward and I were going to be married he had gone so white that he had been almost as pale as Edward, but nowhere near as beautiful, and then fainted. It had taken a long time to calm Charlie down after he had woken up, but eventually we had gotten him to relax a bit. While Charlie tried to start breathing normally again, I had gone to the phone to call Renee and tell her the news. It had taken even longer to calm her down then it had with Charlie. But eventually she had realized that there was no changing my mind and had then started congratulating me rather than scolding me.

When I had returned to the family room, I had found Charlie giving Edward a lecture.

"If you ever hurt her, or do anything to send her crying back home, then you will wish that you had never moved to Forks! I will hunt you down with the largest police force I can get and make you regret ever looking at my daughter, you got that!"

"Don't worry Charlie; I would never do anything to hurt Bella. I will do everything in my power to protect her. You have my word."

That seemed to calm Charlie down.  
"Then you have my blessing. Congratulations," Charlie had then held out his hand and Edward took it and they shook hands "I guess this makes you my future son-in-law."

The memory of Charlie's words made me shiver. If Charlie knew that his future son-in-law was a vampire…I shivered again.  
Edward put his arm around me as we walked up to the large three-story house where the Cullen's lived. I felt my heart jump in my chest at Edward's touch. I knew he could hear it, which made me blush. He looked at me and smiled his crooked smile.  
Alice met us at the front door, her face angry.

"Edward, can I talk to you for a minute?" She growled through her clenched teeth.  
Edward sighed.

"What is it Alice?" I asked.

"Just something I need to talk to Edward about. Privately." She added, looking at Edward.  
Edward sighed again, and then he turned to me.

"Stay here, it will only take a moment."

He kissed me on the forehead, and then he and Alice were gone.

I looked out the glass wall facing south. It was cloudy, as usual. But the green forests surrounding the house were beautiful and so were the snow-capped mountains in the distance. I realized that the beauty of the small town of Forks had grown on me, and it surprised me when I realized that I would miss it when Edward and I left. But we would come back and visit, right? But then I remembered what Jacob had told me. That when I became a vampire that the treaty would be broken, no matter where we were when I changed, and he and his pack would have to attack the Cullens if they ever found them again, the war would start.  
It took all my strength to fight back the tears that threatened to overflow as I remembered Jacob.

I had made my choice. I couldn't live without Edward, and there was no way that I could be with Edward and Jacob at the same time. I had tried, and failed. It would be hard to live without Jacob, but not as hard as it would have been to live without Edward. I'd been there; I knew how it felt when Edward had left almost a year ago for my own good. But in the end, it had nearly killed us both.

I was interrupted from my thoughts when Edward and Alice returned to the room. Edward looked worried and lost in thought. But before I could ask what was wrong, Alice spoke.  
"I have a great idea for the wedding, Bella," Alice said as she danced toward me. She was so graceful. It took my breath away. "I thought that we would have the wedding in a chapel or something. But then I had a vision of the wedding taking place in a beautiful meadow. I asked Edward about it and he told me that it was your special place where you two hang out. So I thought that we could have the wedding in the meadow! What do you think?" She asked me with pleading eyes, waiting for my answer.

I imagined myself walking down the aisle in my wedding dress between the plastic chairs and towards Edward in a tuxedo, looking perfect beyond description, in the perfectly circular meadow and the wild flowers swaying in the wind. Though the thought of getting married still terrified me, I found myself longing for the image in my head to become a reality.

"I think it's a great idea, Alice. But how is everyone going to get there? It's not exactly the easiest place to find."

"Well, I thought we could hire someone to make a road or something, if that's alright with you. After you and Edward leave you won't be using it anymore anyway, right? So it won't really matter if other people know about it?" Her eyes were pleading again. She really wanted to do this. Whatever makes her happy, I reminded myself.

"Sure, Alice. Whatever it takes."

"Yes! Thanks Bella!" She said as she ran to me and hugged me. "I need to get to work, then. You and Edward go play." She threw Edward an angry look, and then spun away from us and gracefully danced away like a perfect ballerina.

Edward took my hand and led me to the front door. When we were in his car I asked him.  
"What's wrong? Why was Alice mad at you?"  
"It's nothing." Edward said, not looking at me.  
"If you won't tell me, then I'll ask Alice."  
Edward sighed in defeat. I waited.  
"I sent Jacob a wedding invitation," he hesitated, "and a letter."  
"What?" I gasped.  
"I just told him thank you, and promised that I would take care of you. But I did it without your permission. I'm sorry."  
"That's alright. But why was Alice so mad?" I whispered.  
It was silent for a long moment, but then he finally spoke.  
"Alice saw, in a vision, Charlie telling you that Jacob has been missing for three days. He'll tell you when he gets home tonight."  
I stared at him, my mouth hanging open. I struggled to fight the tears back. No more tears, I told myself, you promised.  
I tried to compose myself until I was able to speak.  
"Is he alright? Will he come back?" I asked, my voice strangled.  
"Alice can't see that. But I'm sure he'll be fine."  
"No he won't," I disagreed. I couldn't fight the tears anymore. I began to sob. "I wish I had never met him. That way I could never have hurt him. I'm horrible! It's all my fault! I wish I didn't exist!" But as I accused myself I knew I was lying, about the first part anyway. I loved Jacob. He had helped me during my darkest days. He had been my sun. Imagining my life without knowing him was impossible. But that just made me hate myself more.  
Edward stopped the car on the side of the road and put his arms around me. I saw that we were in front of Charlie's house, but I was too distraught to be surprised.

"No, Bella, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault, it's mine. He wouldn't have run away if I hadn't sent him that letter. It's not your fault."  
I couldn't argue. I was crying to hard to talk.  
"Do you want to go inside?" Edward asked.  
I nodded, still unable to speak.

Before I could blink, Edward was opening the car door on my side. He unbuckled my seatbelt for me and picked me up easily. The next thing I knew, I was on my bed in my bedroom, Edward still holding me. Again, he held me as I cried, my tears falling onto his shirt. I started hating myself even more. I had promised myself that Edward would never see me shed another tear over Jacob. And yet, here I was, crying just as I had the last time.

But this was different; Jacob was missing. He was in pain, and it was my entire fault, despite what Edward had said. I looked at the bracelet on my left hand, at the little wooden wolf Jacob had carved himself, and it made me cry harder.

It steadily got darker and darker in my room, and I knew Charlie would be home soon. I slowly got up. Edward saw what I was trying to do and released me. I longed, almost craved, to go back into his arms and have him hold me. But I had other responsibilities, such as feeding Charlie.

I went downstairs, with Edward by my side, and into the kitchen. As I preheated the oven and turned on the heat on the stove, Edward spoke.  
"Bella…I think you should reconsider your decision."  
I turned and stared at him, shocked.  
"It's…unbearable to see you in so much pain. If you're putting yourself through this just for me, then stop it. I want you to be happy. If Jacob is what you want, then you should choose him. You should--" His face was pained.  
"No, Edward. I'm not upset because I'm unhappy with my decision. You're all I'll ever want. I'm upset because Jacob's missing, because he's in pain and it's my fault, because I don't want to change my mind, and my decision is hurting him. I'm upset with myself, because I'm selfish and I'm hurting everyone I care about." I stopped. I couldn't talk about this anymore. It hurt too much.

Edward put his arms around me again. Feeling his touch calmed me down a bit. It was only after I had calmed down that I realized I had been shaking.

"Bella, the last thing you are is selfish. You have risked your life to save others and have sacrificed your own happiness to make everyone else happy. But you can't save everyone, and you can't make everyone happy. You have to take care of yourself once in a while, at least."  
I was about to argue, but I knew he was right. I couldn't save everyone, and I couldn't make everyone happy, no matter how hard I tried.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 2: Attack

It had been two weeks since Edward had told me of Jacob's disappearance, and Jacob still hadn't returned. Billy had called Charlie to report him missing, though I knew that Billy knew that Jacob hadn't been abducted. Billy had probably told Charlie so that the police could keep another set of eyes open for Jacob.

Edward was now always worried about me, always being cautious around me, in case I cracked again and started crying. After a while it started to get annoying, but I knew I would probably do the same thing if the situation were reversed.

The rest of the Cullens seemed perfectly at ease, only worrying about the wedding. Jacob's absence caused them no distress. Though, when Esme looked at me her face was full of care and worry about me. Alice would always give Edward angry glances. I wondered why she was so mad. It wasn't Edward's fault that Jacob was missing, it was mine.

So that day, when Edward was driving me home in his Volvo, I asked him.  
"Alice still seems pretty mad at you about Jacob. Why is that?"  
"Well, because it was against the rules." Edward answered.  
"Against the rules?"  
"The treaty." He reminded me.

"Oh." I let the subject drop. The treaty that kept the werewolves and the vampires from fighting right now. Of course Alice would be upset if Edward had put their safety in jeopardy. But Edward seemed confident that it wouldn't come to that though, so I wasn't worried. I didn't have enough energy to be worried. There was so much that I already had to be worried about: Jacob, the wedding, the Volturi, me becoming a vampire, Jacob.  
Jacob, I repeated in my head.  
Would he ever come home?  
I didn't know.

It was just a few days until the wedding, and I was nervous.  
Nervous was putting it mildly. I was terrified. But I had to get it over with, and afterwards Edward would have to fulfil all of my demands. I told myself that over and over again, and that's what kept me from screaming. And to make matters worse, Jacob hadn't come home. I was getting frantic. I now called Billy's house every half hour to ask if he was back. And always the same answer: no.

As I became more panicked, Edward kept trying to distract me, which was fine, but it still didn't erase my worry.  
One day, Alice wanted Edward and me to go up to the meadow with her and make plans. Edward was eager, wanting to distract me some more. So I agreed, and we went.  
The trip there was exhilarating, as always.

When we reached the meadow, Alice was already there looking around with her hands on her hips. She didn't look surprised to see us, of course.

"This meadow is so small!" Was the first thing she said to us  
"Well, that won't be a problem? We don't have that many people coming. It's supposed to be a small wedding, remember." I said.  
"Yeah, I guess. I was just hoping we could have more room for decorations and stuff." She complained.  
"Not too overboard, Alice. Remember?" I reminded her.  
"Yeah." She mumbled.  
She turned away from us and started pointing to different sections of the meadow and mumbled to herself.

"The chairs will go along here, and Bella will walk along here and maybe some light's here…"  
I looked around the meadow. It was just as beautiful as it had been the first time I'd been here with Edward. It had been the first time I'd seen him shine in the sunlight, looking like a god. I looked up at the sky. It was cloudy, unlike my first day here, but it was still beautiful.  
"Do you remember our first day here together?" Edward asked me. I turned to him.  
"Yes, I was just thinking about that. I thought you couldn't read my mind?" I asked, teasing.  
"I can't, I just get lucky sometimes."  
Then he brought his lips down to mine and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. As usual, my breathing became uneven and my heart pounded.

Edward's lips left mine and travelled down to my neck. While Edward continued to kiss me, I tried to remember how to breathe normally.

All of a sudden, Alice gasped.  
Edward released me and we both turned toward Alice.  
She was looking at nothing in particular, but her face was paler than usual, and her eyes seemed unfocused. But I knew, and so did Edward, that she was no longer seeing the meadow, she was seeing something that was yet to come, something that might happen.  
Edward and I ran to her, Edward running at human speed next to me.  
"What is it Alice?" I asked her.

Her eyes suddenly went back into focus, and she looked at us, her eyes were filled with a mixture of anger, anxiety, and terror.  
"We have to leave, now!"  
"Why?" I asked, confused.  
Several things happened at once.  
Both Edward and Alice stiffened, Edward let out a growl of rage, and I saw a pair of shining eyes in the forest surrounding the meadow. Then Edward and Alice went into attack position, half-crouched, placing themselves between the glittering eyes and me.

Edward and Alice backed up, pushing me with them, as a huge, russet-coloured, wolf entered the meadow.  
**Jacob**.

I wanted to run up to him, grab on to his shaggy fur, put my head against his warm body, and cry in relief. But then I looked into his eyes again, and a shiver ran down my spine. The look in his eyes was hostile, murderous. He, too, was in a crouch, ready to pounce. A growl came from his chest.

I looked back at Alice and Edward, ready to attack, and I wanted to scream.  
This can't be happening. This can't be happening!  
They were going to fight.  
Edward started whispering to Alice so low and so fast that I couldn't hear. Whatever Edward had told Alice made her look at him in shock.

"Now!" Edward said louder and slower so I could hear.  
Slowly, Alice walked to me, still in her crouch, never taking her eyes off Jacob. She grabbed my arm.

"Jacob--" Edward started, his velvet voice full of authority.  
Before he could finish, Jacob attacked.  
Jacob jumped, closing the gap between him and Edward. Jacob slashed his paws at Edward, trying to tear him with his claws. Edward moved out of the way so fast I couldn't see him. I stared in horror as Edward and Jacob fought, so fast I could hardly see them.  
Suddenly, I found myself in Alice's arms. And then we were flying through the forest, leaving Edward and Jacob fighting behind us.

"No!" I screamed. I struggled to get out of her steal grasp, but to no prevail. "They're going to kill each other, we have to go back, we have to stop them!"  
But how? This wasn't Edward and Victoria. This was Edward and Jacob. My true love and my best friend. I couldn't just threaten to cut myself with a rock or a knife. And if we went back, Alice would just help Edward kill Jacob.

"Edward told me to get you out of there so you wouldn't get hurt. We'll go back to the house and I can the rest of the family and we'll go back and help Edward." Alice's voice was confident, but the look in her eyes did not match her tone.

No! I didn't want Alice to get reinforcements; I wanted the fighting to cease completely.  
When we were in the Cullen's house, Alice laid me on the couch and then ran upstairs at full vampire speed. After what seemed to be hours, but only a few seconds, Alice returned downstairs with the rest of the Cullens. Carlisle spoke quickly to me.

"Stay here, Bella. We'll help Edward. You wait here. Do you understand?"

"Yes." I whispered, my voice shaking.

Carlisle nodded once and then they were gone.

I was now alone, with no occupation, left to think. Horrible images flashed through my mind, the look in Jacob's eyes, Edward and Alice in attack position, Jacob's claws slashing at Edward.

I tried to shake away the memories, but they wouldn't leave my mind. I tried to get up to walk around, but I was too shaky to get off the couch.

In my head, I saw Jacob dead on the ground, or Edward ripped to shreds.  
No!  
Why was Jacob doing this? He had been my friend. My safe harbor. My sun.  
And now it seemed that my sun was setting.

I remembered how Edward had been kissing m

e. Had Jacob been watching? Was that too much for him? Had he just snapped?  
Or was it something else? Had Sam ordered Jacob to attack Edward? But why, what was the motive? Sam knew my decision, why would he do something like this? I knew it wasn't to prevent to Cullens from breaking the treaty. In doing this, the treaty was already broken.  
Oh no!

Would the war start early? Would we have to leave sooner? No, that couldn't happen?  
But what if it did?

As I waited for the Cullens return, I tried to think of other reasons Sam would order Jacob to attack Edward, but I couldn't think of any.

I hoped the Cullens would come back soon. The horrible images kept going through my head, and I wanted to see Edward, alive and whole, and have him hold me and help me forget everything. But if the Cullens returned, then Jacob would have to be dead.  
No!  
But if Jacob survived, then the Cullens would be dead.  
No!  
But could Jacob destroy an entire family of vampires? Only if the rest of the pack helped him.  
No!  
This couldn't be happening!  
But someone would have to win, and someone would have to loose. Someone would live, and someone would die.  
No!  
Then I heard the front door open. I looked up. Could there be a chance that all of them, even Jacob, were alright? I doubted it.

Carlisle entered first, followed by Esme, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett. I looked around for Edward, but I couldn't see him.

Then I noticed that some of the Cullens were carrying something. I studied the pieces of white stone in their arms. And then, unable to breath, I fell into unconsciousness.

AN: plz review!! I am allowing flames. So plz JUST REVIEW! Thnk u


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 3: Return

"Bella?"  
I opened my eyes, or at least I thought I did. Because, when I did, I saw Edward.  
And I knew I was dreaming.  
Edward was dead.  
I had seen Carlisle, Emmett, and Alice holding his remains. His body torn to shreds by the monster that had once been my friend.

My life was over; everything worth living for was over, gone.  
I waited for the pain to come as the realization hit. I would never see Edward again, his perfect face or his crooked smile, or his bronze hair flying in the wind, or his piercing topaz eyes. I would never hear his perfect voice, soft as velvet, sweet as honey. And I would never feel his cool skin on mine, cold as ice, hard as marble.

But as I laid here, in this perfect dream, staring at Edward, the pain did not come. Not as I looked into his golden eyes, or saw his perfect face, or his saw his hair shining in the dim light coming from the window.

But in my dream, Edward wasn't smiling. Instead, his face was full of worry, for me.  
"Bella, are you alright?" Edward asked.  
"Of course," I said as I sat up. I saw that Edward wasn't alone, behind him was the rest of his family, looking at me warily. "I'm dreaming about you."  
"Bella," Edward said slowly, looking at me cautiously now, "you're not dreaming."  
"Of course I am, or you wouldn't be here right now."  
Edward sighed and then sat down on the couch next to me. He began to lift his hand to the side of my face, hesitated, and then pushed the hair from my face and behind my right ear. The feeling of his cool hand felt very realistic, for a dream.

"Bella, I'm not dead."  
"Not in my dream." I pointed out.  
"Bella, you're not dreaming. I'm alive. I'm alright. We're in my house and we're together."  
"How?" I said, still trying to prove him wrong. He knew what I meant.  
"Well," he hesitated, "remember those legends that you heard in La Push a few months ago?"  
"Yes." I said as I remembered the time when Jacob Black had taken me to the bonfire party where his dad, Billy Black, had told us old Quileute legends about spirit warriors, werewolves, and vampires. A surge of anger ran through me as I thought Jacob's name.  
"Remember that one legend about the destroyed vampire, and how it started trying to put itself back together?"

It surprised me that he knew the story. He hadn't actually been there because of the treaty, but then I realized that he must have heard the story in Jacob's mind (another surge of anger).  
"Yes." I said as I remembered; the werewolves had destroyed a vampire who had been killing girls from another tribe. When the tribal elders had examined the shredded remains, it had started to put itself back together. The only way to keep that from happening was to burn all the pieces.

I suddenly understood.  
"That's what happened?"  
Edward slowly nodded.  
I felt like I would explode from the relief that rushed through me.  
I wasn't dreaming. Edward had never been killed, because Jacob had forgotten to burn him. He had put himself back together.

I threw my arms around him and pressed my face into his shoulder. I was sobbing with relief.  
"It's alright, Bella. It's alright." Edward whispered in my ear.

I lifted my head, keeping my arms around him, and then pressed my lips against his. He put his hand on the back of my head-as if to hold me there-and kissed me back. During the few times we broke apart to breath, I sobbed some more. My heart felt ready to burst out of my chest, but I didn't care. Edward was alive, that's all that mattered. Except…

I reluctantly broke away from Edward, and he let me go. Though he couldn't read my mind, he looked like he knew what I was about to ask.

"What about Jacob?" Now that I knew that Edward was alive, I didn't feel as much anger toward him anymore.  
It was Carlisle who answered.  
"Jacob is alive."  
I turned to look at him.  
"How?"  
Alice spoke this time.  
"We got there too late. Jacob had already left."  
"But why didn't Jacob burn…" I looked at Edward. Not that I wasn't glad Jacob hadn't burned him, but I still had to ask.  
"We don't know." Alice answered.  
I still had so many questions to ask, but then Edward spoke.  
"It's getting late, we better get you back home before Charlie does."  
"Alright." That was okay; most of my questions were for Edward anyway. Then I remembered.  
"What about my truck?" I asked. My truck was still at the end of the trail on the one-ten.  
"I'll get it," Alice said, "It'll be at your house before Charlie gets home."  
"Alright then," Edward said, looking at me, "Shall we?"  
It was a quiet ride home. I was still in shock from everything that had happened. I decided that I would ask my questions when we were at my house.

Charlie wasn't home when we got there. My truck wasn't there yet, but I knew it wouldn't be long before it appeared on my driveway. I decided to serve leftovers so that I would have more time to talk to Edward before Charlie arrived. Edward watched me as I gobbled down my food, his face still looked worried. I looked at him more closely than I had back at his house and I was grateful when I saw that he didn't have a single scar from the battle.

After I was finished eating, I looked out the front window to see if my truck was there, though I was sure I would be able to hear it, even through the pounding of the rain. It surprised me when I saw it in the driveway; I hadn't heard a single noise. Alice was nowhere to be seen.

When I turned away from the window Edward was standing next to me.  
"So, I bet you have a lot of questions for me. Why don't we sit down?" He pointed to the living room.

"Okay."  
He sat down on the couch and then held out his arms for me. He wrapped his arms around me after I took my place on his lap.  
"Where to start?" I sighed to myself.  
Edward waited.  
Unable to hold in my curiosity any longer, I blurted everything out at once.  
"What happened? Why did Jacob attack? Why was Jacob there? What did Alice see? Why didn't you know he was there? Couldn't you read his mind? Why didn't you let Alice stay and help you? Why didn't Jacob-?"

"Bella, relax, one question at a time."  
It was my turn to wait.  
"Jacob was there because he wanted to make sure you were alright. The reason he attacked was because he thought I was about to change you…" He paused, watching my expression as I froze in shock.

I remembered how Edward had kissed me before Alice had gasped and Jacob had attacked, how he had brought his lips to my throat while I tried to remember how to breath properly. Had Jacob thought that Edward was about to bite me?  
"When you were kissing me…?"  
Edward nodded.  
"But how did you not know he was there?" I asked after I had recovered from my brief moment of shock, "Couldn't you read his mind?"

"I could. But I was concentrating to block Alice's thoughts, she was getting really distracting, and I ended up blocking Jacob's thought's as well. He was far enough away at the time that Alice and I couldn't smell him."

"Then what did Alice see, after Jacob decided to attack?"  
"Alice had seen me in the meadow, after Jacob had left."  
I shivered.

"But why didn't you let Alice stay and help?" I asked.  
"Bella, did you really think I would let you stay during the fight? And besides, Jacob had no quarrel with you or Alice, just me."  
I brushed my fingertips along his ice-cold arm, perfect and whole.  
"Why is that?" I mumbled, mostly to myself.  
"Why is what?" Edward asked.  
I didn't answer. It was silly; I should just be grateful that Edward was alive, but I couldn't help being curious.

Edward groaned. I suddenly wondered if he could still be in pain from getting torn apart and put back together again.

"What is it? Are you alright?" I asked, panicked.  
"I'm fine, but please tell me what you were thinking, before I go insane. Even after all this time, it's still so frustrating to not be able to hear your thoughts." He smiled slightly.  
I blushed, "It's nothing."  
Edward groaned again. Then he turned his gaze back to me and unleashed the full power of his eyes on me. I was suddenly confused, my thoughts scattered by his absurd beauty. Would I ever get used to this?

"Please." He breathed in my face, confusing me further.  
"Please what?" I asked, trying to gather my thoughts.  
"Please tell me what you're thinking."  
I struggled to break my gaze from him, but I couldn't will myself to look away from his perfection.

"I was wondering why you don't have any scars?" I blushed again and, embarrassed, I was able to look away from his now amused eyes and down at our entwined hands.

"That's what you were wondering?" I could hear the smile in his tone.  
"I told you it was silly." I said, still looking down.  
"No it's not. It's just funny because you thought it was silly. If I didn't already know, I would wonder the same thing."  
"Then why?" I asked again.  
"It's a vampire thing. Our skin is different from a human's. Only vampire venom can scar us. Remember what Jasper told you?"  
I blushed again. It was obvious. Of course their skin wasn't the same as humans. Humans skin wasn't bullet proof, and it didn't shine in the sunlight as if thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface. And how could I forget what Jasper had told me, showing me the dozens of crescent moon shaped scars on his arm?

I suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Edward's words had reminded me of something, and I tried to remember exactly what it was.

Then I remembered when Jacob had told me about how werewolves heal faster then humans, how he had called it a 'wolf thing.' I looked up and the question burst out of my mouth before I could push it back.

"Was Jacob hurt?"  
Edward went still as a statue. Several emotions ran across his face, one after the other: sadness, anger, pain, and others that disappeared before I could identify them. Eventually his face drained completely of any emotion.

"No, I don't think so." He finally answered, his voice also emotionless, empty.  
I nodded, looking down again. Relief filled the small part of my heart that would always belong to Jacob.

Suddenly Edward picked me up with one hand and set me down on the couch next to him.  
"What-?" I started to ask. Then I heard the front door open.  
"Bella, you home?" I heard Charlie call from the front entryway.  
"In here dad!" I called back.  
A moment later Charlie entered the family room.  
"Great news, Bella!" Charlie said the minuet he saw me, ignoring Edward, "Billy called me at the station and said that Jacob was back. Isn't that great?"  
"Yeah, Dad. That's great." I tried to sound excited, but I didn't fool him.  
"So, how was your day?" He sounded disappointed, probably from my lack of enthusiasm.  
"It was good." I lied. I hoped Charlie would fall for it, but I was a bad liar. He looked at me suspiciously.

"Um, if you're hungry, there's food for you in the microwave." I said, trying to distract him.  
"Alright." He said. He gave Edward a quick glance, gave me another suspicious look, and then walked to the kitchen.

As soon as Charlie was out of sight, I sighed and laid my head against Edward's shoulder. I felt him lean down and kiss the top of my head, inhaling the scent of my hair. As he did, I felt another wave of relief wash through me.

I had gotten what I wanted: both Edward and Jacob alive, whole, unharmed, and safe. No one had won, and no one had lost. It had been a tie.

But what would happen now? Would Sam consider the treaty broken? Would the war between the vampires and the werewolfs start early?

Horrified by the thought, I curled myself up against Edward's cold body, and I felt calm as sat here with my true love, knowing that my best friend was alive fifteen miles down the road to La Push. It was more than I had hoped for.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 4: Wedding Day

When I woke up and looked at my little calendar in the corner of the alarm clock's display it took all of my strength to keep myself from screaming.  
Today was August 13th.  
Today was my wedding day.  
I began to feel dizzy and lightheaded, as if there was blood in the room. I felt the blood drain from my face.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked, now kneeling next to my bed. He had probably been sitting on the rocking chair in the corner before I had woken up. I looked up at him, his face looked worried.

"Today is August 13th." I whispered.  
"Yes." Edward said, his tone filled with curiosity.  
"Today is the wedding." I said, panicked.  
I could tell Edward that was fighting a smile.  
"Is that what you're upset about?" Amusement colored his tone.  
I nodded.

"Yes, today is our wedding. Speaking of which: Alice told me to tell you that she'll be coming over soon to get you ready. She also said that everything has been set up and that all you need to be worried about is the possibility of you tripping on your gown while your walking up the aisle." He cracked a smile.

I groaned and fell back onto my pillow. Alice was coming, and I knew it would probably take her hours just to do my hair, even if she went at vampire speed. Then I remembered that my Mom had arrived last night and was now asleep on the couch downstairs, and I knew she would want to help. And, knowing Renee, that would just make things worse. I groaned again.

Edward guessed the reason behind my mood.  
"I'm sure it won't be that bad. I'll tell Alice to try to keep it simple. But I can't make any guarantees." He smiled again.  
"Well, if she's coming, then I'll need a human minuet," I sat up and reluctantly slid out of bed. I gathered some clothes and headed for the door. When I reached the door I turned around and looked at Edward.

"Stay here, I'll be back soon." I said.  
"Yes, ma'am." He said as he lay down on my unmade bed. He was then still as a statue.  
It reminded me of the earlier days of our love, when things had been simple-well, as simple as you can get when a vampire and a human fall in love-and now today we were taking our love to the next level.

Marriage. I shuddered as I walked to the bathroom.

I was shaking as I got ready, trying to hurry. I reminded myself that after this was over, Edward would fulfill my demands, and we would be together for eternity. I continued to think about that. But in that case, would this be the last day that I would see Charlie and Renee? The thought made me shake even harder.

After I was decent, I went back to my room and found Edward exactly as I had left him. He sat up as I entered the room and held his arms out for me. I walked, almost ran, to him and sat on his lap. I lifted my face up to his with my eyes closed. He knew what I was searching for, and he leaned down and kissed me. Almost instantly, I became dizzy, and my heart beat unevenly. Then, too soon, he broke the kiss.

"Alice is here." He said before I could complain.  
I then heard the doorbell ring from downstairs.  
"I have to go." He whispered in my ear.  
"No!" I didn't want him to go.  
"I won't be far. And besides, what would your parents think if I came out of your room with you?"  
"I don't care, I don't want you to go."  
"I won't be far." He said again.  
And then he was gone.  
I sighed heavily, and then I headed for the stairs.  
When I got there, I found that Renee had already opened the door.  
"Morning Mom, hey Alice," I greeted them both when I found them in the kitchen.  
"Hi Bella!" Alice said to me at the same time Renee said "Good morning Bella," without taking her eyes off Alice, her mouth hanging open in aw at Alice's beauty.

Alice skipped, or danced, gracefully to me and stopped in front of me. I realized my mouth was hanging open too and quickly composed myself.

"Time to get you ready, Bella." She said to me, her tone playful.  
"Oh, can I help?" Renee asked, excited.  
"Sure, Mom," I said to her, then I turned to Alice and mumbled, "Let's get this over with."  
"Don't worry, Bella. It'll be great." She said before heading up the stairs. I sighed and then Renee and I followed her to the bathroom.

I waited behind the tree's-with Alice and Rosalie behind me, and Charlie beside me-for when the music would start. I was wearing my wedding gown, long and flowing, which looked just like my dress from my Anne of Green Gables vision. My hair was done up in a bun, with long strands of hair curled up on the sides of my face. It had been the last of several experimental hairstyles, some stranger than others.

I was shaking, and as every minuet passed-every minuet, which brought me, closer to the time when I would walk down the aisle-I shook harder. Eventually I was shaking so hard that it probably looked like I was having convulsions.

"Bella?"  
I turned to the sound of Charlie's voice, my vision of him obscured by the veil that hung over my face.

"Bella," He said again. He lifted his hand and gently put it on my shoulder, "I just want you to know that…whatever happens after this, you'll always be my little girl. I know you're nervous…" That was an understatement, "But there's nothing to be afraid of. Edward is a good man…and I know he'll take care of you. Everything will be fine. It's not like the end of the world." He laughed weakly.

I didn't say anything. His words went through my head over and over again, as I thought of how wrong he was.

It was the end of the world, my world. My human life was coming to an end. And, though I knew it was what I wanted, there were still parts of my human life that I would miss terribly: my parents, and my friends. And I knew that once my human life had ended that I wouldn't be able to visit them in fear that I may kill them, or someone else from my dark world would.  
But the thought of remaining mortal, to grow old-and eventually die-while Edward stayed beautiful and seventeen was also to horrible imagine. My decision was made: I couldn't live without Edward.

"I love you, honey." Charlie broke my thoughts.  
"I love you, too, Dad."  
Then my Dad hugged me, and I hugged him back. When we broke apart, I realized that I had tears strewn down my face. I reached my hand behind my veil and wiped them away. I was glad that Alice had used waterproof make-up on me again.

I looked behind me; Alice and Rosalie were looking away-at nothing in particular-trying to ignore us, though I knew that they could hear us.

Then I heard the wedding march coming from the speakers that Alice had set up, and I froze.  
I felt Charlie wrap his arm around mine. I looked at him and he gave me an encouraging smile.

Then we walked forward.  
I concentrated on my feet so that I wouldn't trip, which helped me not notice the dozens of people staring at me. I looked up at the platform ahead of me and I took in a deep breath as I saw Edward, looking more beautiful than in my vision of the wedding, standing a few feet away from Emmett. I fought a smile. Edward had gotten Emmett to get a clerical license off the Internet, probably trying to make me feel more comfortable, just as he said he would.  
Charlie then released my arm and I walked up the steps alone. Edward took my hand, smiling at me. We then both looked at Emmett, and he spoke.

"Welcome to the marriage of Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen. You have been asked to gather here to witness and share in the joy of this union."

Then Edward turned to me and I turned to him, just as we had rehearsed during the wedding rehearsal.

"There was darkness for a long time and then there was light, and that light was you. Your love has given me wings, and our journey begins today. I pledge before this assembled company to be your husband from this day forward. Let us make of our two lives one life. I want you for today, tomorrow, and forever." Edward said.

Then I repeated the words that I had practiced yesterday during the wedding rehearsal, which had included a lot of tripping and stuttering until I had gotten it right.

"I have dreamed my whole life of having someone as wonderful as you love me the way you do. I give myself to you as your wife, and I promise here to treasure for all of my days the love we celebrate today. Let us bring together our lives and find ourselves anew each day."  
Emmett then turned to me, and my stomach started doing flips.

"Isabella Swan, do you take Edward Cullen as your husband, in happiness and with patience and understanding, through conflict and tranquility?"

I took deep breath, "I do."  
I turned toward Alice, who was standing behind us holding a small silk pillow with two rings, and took the one that belonged to Edward. I then placed it on his cold finger.

Emmett then turned to Edward,  
"Edward Cullen, do you take Isabella Swan as your wife, in happiness and with patience and understanding, through conflict and tranquility?"

"I do." Edward's honey sweet voice was calm.  
He then took the last ring from Alice and turned to me. I lifted my left hand to him and he placed the ring on my fourth finger, Elizabeth Masen's ring.

Emmett spoke again, but Edward and I didn't look at him. Instead, we stared at each other. Edward wore his crooked smile, and his astounding beauty took my breath away, as usual.  
"In the years which shall bring Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen into greater wisdom, we hope that their love will be ever young; that they shall always be able to recover from moments of despair. In this hope, may they keep the vows made on this day, in freedom, teaching each other who they are, what they yet shall be, enabling them to know that, in the fullness of being, they are more than themselves and more than each other, that they are all of us, and that together we share joyously the fruits of life on this earth.

"Inasmuch as Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen have declared their love to each other before family and friends, I now greet them with you as husband and wife."  
Emmett then leaned down to Edward with a huge grin on his face,  
"You may kiss the bride."

Edward lifted my veil and flipped it behind my head, gave me one more beautiful smile, and then brought his lips to mine. I thought it would be the same as all of our other kisses, but it was different. It felt more…official, as if the bond we had just forged between us had made our love even stronger. But some things hadn't changed; my heart pounded unevenly, I couldn't breath normally, and I started to feel lightheaded. Then-all too soon-Edward broke the kiss, his smile still on his face and excitement flashing in his gold eyes.

I suddenly wondered how Charlie was taking this.  
Then Edward took my hand and we walked back down the aisle together, as husband and wife.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 5: Demands

Wasn't the wedding itself enough? Wasn't standing at the altar with Edward and stating my vows of love and devotion for him in front of dozens of people enough for Alice? Why, oh why, did she have to put me through this torture?  
Why did we have to have a wedding reception?

I had already known about the wedding reception, but I would rather have Alice dress me up a thousand times rather than be here. It seemed that all of Forks was here, crowding Charlie's backyard. The entire yard was dressed up in ribbons and balloons and lights. I should have never taken my eyes off Alice during the few hours Edward and I had spent in the house after the wedding. But it could have been worse. According to Alice, most people had a luncheon after the wedding and then a reception. But it was still horrible.

Edward and I, Charlie and Renee, and the rest of the Cullens, had to stand in a line as people filed along to chat and congratulate us. Some people I recognized, and others I didn't. It seemed that the line went on forever. But when Jessica Stanley started talking to me, it took her a long time and most of the people behind her got impatient and gave up and went over to the large, highly decorated, refreshment table. Thanks to Jessica, it didn't take as long as it could have. But after that, even worse, Charlie and I had to have a father-daughter dance. Both of us had balance problems, and it was a disaster. I mentally cursed Alice as Charlie and I tripped over each other. But after that things went much smoother. Edward and I danced and he kept me up, never letting go of me. We danced for a long time, but eventually my legs got tired from standing all day, and we went to go sit down on the back porch. People kept taking pictures of us, and it got very annoying.

"I'm never going to forgive Alice for this." I promised to myself.  
"You know Alice, you can never reign her in completely." Edward said.  
"But she knows that I hate this type of thing. And she does it anyway, though she said she wouldn't!"

In my _Anne of Green Gables_ vision, I had imagined Edward and I-he in his tux and I in my wedding gown-on a porch swing with no one else around. Instead, Edward and I were sitting on the back porch steps surrounded by people. I looked around at the crowd, making a face.  
Edward read my expression.

"The reception will be over soon and we can be alone. We still have our honeymoon."  
I looked at him and smiled.

"Yes, that will be nice."  
Edward and I had decided that he would fulfill my demand on our honeymoon, which we would spend in a small hotel on a quiet beach in California. We would stay inside during the day, of course, or we could spend the day outside in a secluded area around there. I imagined watching him sparkle in the sunlight, being alone with him with no deadlines, and it made me smile wider.

He smiled back-my favorite crooked smile. But then his expression changed from smiling, to shock, to anger. A hiss escaped his chest. For a second, he looked like a vampire. He stood up.

"What is it?" I asked. An image of Jacob's werewolf pack, coming to kill us, flashed through my mind.  
"Stay here, it'll only take a second." Edward said.  
"What is it?" I asked again.  
"Some of our high school friends are going to ruin my car. I'm just going to inform them that I'd rather they didn't do that."  
I realized I had been holding my breath. I let it out and then started to laugh.  
"Well then let's go tell them." I said, still laughing.

I took Edward's cold hand and he lifted me up. We walked to the front of the house, hand in hand. When we reached Edward's silver Volvo we found Mike, Jessica, Lauren, Tyler, Austin, and Conner with what seemed to be bags of rice, balloons, whipped cream, Oreos, and ribbons. Tyler was writing 'Just Married' on a piece of white cardboard with red marker. I giggled. They looked up.

"Oh," Austin said, "This is awkward."  
"Could you please not do that? I know it would be fun, but it would ruin the car and it would be a little inconvenient to fix it when Bella and I are trying to go on our honeymoon." Edward told them.

I looked at Edward's face; his expression was still angry.  
"Um, yeah, we were just going…"Mike said as he started picking up the bags of rice.  
"Yeah, we're leaving now." Lauren said, helping gather the items that were supposed to be used to abuse the silver Volvo.  
There was a chorus of apologies as they put the items in Mike's Suburban. Then they walked quickly away from the Volvo and back to the reception, smiling apologetically in the awkward moment.

"Now you see why I don't like receptions?" I asked Edward.  
"Yes, I see your point." He said. He smiled.  
We both turned when we heard someone running toward us.  
"Bella! Edward! It's time to cut the cake, come on!" Renee called as she jogged to us.  
"We're coming!" I called back before she reached us. She stopped.  
"Well, hurry up! Everyone is waiting!" She turned around and jogged back to the reception.  
As Edward and I followed Renee, I wondered what Edward would do. He detested human food, but Renee (not Alice, for once) had insisted that we have a cake.  
"So, are you going to take a bite, or are you going to hide it somewhere?" I asked before we reached the crowd.

"I can eat it, I just won't like it very much." He answered.  
"You don't have to if you don't want to. You can pretend your feeling sick or something."  
"No, I'll be fine. It's just one bite." He smiled again.

One bite, I thought. One bite could change everything. I suddenly remembered what waited for me after all of this was over. I shook the thought away quickly.

The cake was large; three layers of white gnash and cream, covered cake. Two little figures, which were supposed to resemble Edward and I, stood on top. Renee had bought it in Phoenix. Edward and I cut each other a piece and fed each other a bite. Everyone clapped and cheered. Edward looked fine, but I knew it didn't taste very good to him.

I was grateful when everybody started to leave. A few more people congratulated us, and then left. When everyone had gone except Charlie, Renee, and the Cullens; Alice skipped over to Edward and I.

"How'd you like it Bella?" She asked.  
I folded my arms across my chest and looked away. I didn't say anything.  
"Look, I'm sorry. But I thought a reception would be fun! And…I guess I got a little carried away."  
"A little?" I turned to her, "the entire population of Forks was here! You promised you wouldn't go overboard."  
"It could have been worse," she pointed out, and then sighed, "I'm really sorry. Will you forgive me?"  
She made a puppy dog pout, but she looked more like a baby angel.  
"Alright, you're forgiven." I gave in.  
"Thanks, Bella!" Alice hugged me, and then let go, "Well, guess I better clean up. You two go have fun together." She said to both of us and then danced back to where the rest of the Cullens were.

I looked up at Edward and smiled. He smiled too, and then we walked back to the house with his arm around me.

I wasn't surprised when I saw the 'Welcome to Forks' sign and knew that we had made a two-day journey in one. I was disappointed that our honeymoon was over. It felt like we had left Forks yesterday-though I knew that we had left about a week ago-and now we were back.  
Edward had paid for everything, though I had objected, saying that he wouldn't let me spend my college money (he was still hoping that I would change my mind and go to college, at least before he changed me).

Though the time had been to short for me, it had been one of the best weeks of my life. Possibly the best week of my life. I smiled to myself as the memories from our honeymoon flashed through my mind. Edward and I on a secluded beach, Edward sparkling-beautiful beyond belief. We had even had a picnic. Well, I had a picnic, Edward just watched me eat. Edward wouldn't go hunting, even when his eyes became dark onyx, until I practically kicked him out of our hotel room. The hotel had been nearly vacant, so it had been very quiet-which I hadn't noticed until Edward left. The silence and his absence had nearly driven me to insanity. But I didn't notice the silence when Edward returned, his eyes liquid butterscotch.  
But the best part of the amazing week was when Edward fulfilled my demand. The experience that I wanted to have as a human, before my lust for blood took me over. Of course, Edward had tried to make me change my mind-reminding me of the dangers, the risks it held for me. I had reminded him that he promised we would try. Despite Edward's worries, I had walked away unharmed.

But even the best things had to come to an end. I sighed as we pulled up in front of Charlie's house.  
"You're not happy we're home?" Edward asked, misunderstanding my mood.  
"It's not that. It's just, it seems like we just left yesterday."  
"I know what you mean." Edward agreed.  
Charlie seemed very excited about my return when he opened the door for us. He gave me a hug and shook Edward's hand.  
"Did you kids have fun?" He asked both of us, which surprised me. Usually he only looked at me and ignored Edward.  
"Yeah, it was great." I said.  
"That's great. How 'bout you, Edward?" Charlie asked.  
"Yes, Charlie, we had a great time." Edward replied.  
I smiled. It was nice to see Charlie being polite to Edward, for once.  
"That's good. There's pizza on the counter, if you're hungry." Charlie said as he started walking toward the family room. There must be a game starting.  
"Thanks." I realized that my stomach was grumbling, so I walked to the kitchen with Edward beside me. I took a slice from the half empty box of pizza and began nibbling on it.

"_Did_ you enjoy yourself?" Edward asked.  
"Yes, really, I did." I assured him. I smiled again as the memory's ran through my mind again.

This whole compromise thing had worked out well; Edward had gotten what he wanted, marriage, and I had gotten what I wanted. Almost all of my demands were fulfilled, except for one. For Edward to bite me, to give me immortality as a vampire.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 6: Jealousy

"Alright, what are we going to do?" I asked.  
I looked around at the Cullens, everyone having different reactions as we discussed me becoming a vampire. Carlisle seemed lost in thought. Esme seemed slightly worried. Emmett had a big grin on his face. Jasper seemed to have no emotion at all. Alice looked excited. And Rosalie…Rosalie looked as if she was trying to scream at me with her expressions only. I turned away quickly and looked at Edward instead. But that was the wrong place to look. He too was lost in thought, but his expression was pained. I looked at Carlisle as he lifted his head.  
"We won't be able to stay here, of course. We'll have to leave. Now…Bella," Carlisle looked directly to me. "Charlie thinks you are going to Alaska to go to the university there, is that correct?"  
"Yes." I answered.  
"Well, we can go there," Esme said, "we can go to Alaska. Maybe Tanya and her family will let us stay with them for a while."  
"Not for too long. Remember when we lived with them before? People started to get suspicious. And now our family has grown." Edward said.  
"Yes, not too long. Maybe just until we've found a place to settle down." Carlisle said.  
I felt bad as the Cullens stood here in their house discussing how they were going to leave because of me. If it weren't for me, they wouldn't be expecting a visit from the Volturi and the treaty between the werewolves and the vampires would not be on the edge of being broken.  
"But one more thing. It will also look suspicious if we all leave together. If Edward and Bella are going to college, it would look strange if the rest of us went with them." Carlisle pointed out.  
"Maybe," Jasper started, "Maybe Edward and Bella can go first. Then later we catch up to them, saying we're moving somewhere else. But we go to Alaska instead."  
"That's a good idea," Alice said. Then she closed her eyes. Then they opened almost as soon as she had closed them, "It'll work. No one will get suspicious."  
"Alright then. Once we're in Alaska, Edward can change Bella."  
Edward stiffened next to me. I turned to him. His face still looked pained.  
"You promised." I whispered.  
Edward sighed, "I know. How soon?" Edward asked Carlisle.  
"As soon as you and Bella are ready." Carlisle replied.  
"Bella?" Edward turned to me.  
I didn't answer right away.  
I had married Edward. I had given Charlie the warning he wanted. Charlie had been asking if Edward and I were still going to go to college together. I had told him yes, but I hadn't told him when. But my birthday was coming soon. It seemed that the closer it came, the faster time went. Perhaps I should tell Charlie tonight.  
"I'll tell Charlie tonight. We can leave in a couple days." I finally answered.

Edward was silent as we got in his car. He didn't relax, he remained tense. He drove the car down the long, curving, driveway away from the Cullens house. When we were almost to Charlie's house, I broke the silence.  
"How am I going to tell him?" I whispered.  
"All you have to tell him is that we've decided to go to college together." His voice was empty, no emotion. Then we reached the house and he parked the car. Neither of us spoke. I felt terrified as we walked into the house. How could I keep myself in one piece as I told Charlie I would be leaving, knowing just how permanent the separation would be?  
"Bella? Is that you?" Charlie called from the family room when we were inside.  
"Yeah, Dad. It's me." Now my voice was empty.  
Charlie entered, looking concerned. Probably because of how lifeless my voice sounded.  
"What is it, Bella?" Charlie asked.  
I took a deep breath.  
"Dad, Edward and I have decided that we want to go to college together, to the University of Alaska." I whispered.  
Charlie froze, shock on his face. But just for a moment, he then replaced the shock with a smile.  
"That's great, Bella. But, you don't seem very happy about that. Is something wrong?" He glanced at Edward and then back at me.  
"I'm fine," I lied, "It's just that I feel bad about leaving you here alone."  
"Don't worry about me, Bells. I took care of myself for sixteen years before you moved here with me. And you're growing up. I knew you would move out eventually. And, besides, it's just college. It doesn't last forever, and you'll come back and visit."  
I didn't say anything. Charlie walked over to me and hugged me.  
"It'll be alright, Bells. And you don't have to go if you don't want to." I felt his head turn as he glanced at Edward again. Then he released me.  
"I do want to go. It's just that I'll miss you." I said, still whispering.  
It was quiet for a while. Then Edward spoke.  
"It's getting late, I better get going," He said. He kissed me on the forehead; "I'll see you later." He said before walking out the door.  
I looked out the window and watched him leave in his silver Volvo, knowing that he would be back tonight after Charlie was asleep. When Edward was gone, I headed for the stairs to my room.  
"Don't you want to call Renee and tell her the news?" Charlie asked from behind me. I turned to him.  
"It's late. She'll be asleep by now. I'll call her in the morning." I said. Then I went upstairs as Charlie returned to the family room.  
I went in my room to grab my stuff before heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I fumbled around for the light switch in my dark room so I could see. I flipped the switch when I found it and the light went on.  
I gasped when I saw that I wasn't alone.  
Rosalie turned to face me; her expression on her beautiful face hadn't changed since I had left the Cullens house.  
"Bella." She greeted me, her voice cold. A shiver ran down my spine.  
"Hey, Rosalie." I said, trying to sound pleased.  
"I need to talk to you." She said, her tone sharp.  
"What is it?" I asked, though I already knew what she was going to say.  
"Did you remember anything I told you?"  
"Yes, Rosalie-"  
"Have you considered anything I said?"  
"Rosalie-"  
"Have you?" She asked again.  
"Yes, Rosalie. But this is what I want. I want to be with Edward for eternity."  
"Yes, I know that's what you want _now_. But have you thought about what you will want in the _future_? In the future you may be wishing that you stayed human. This is a permanent thing, Bella. I thought I had been clear before, but apparently I wasn't clear enough. You can't do this, Bella. You are throwing your whole future away! You can't do this!"  
"My future isn't a future at all without Edward. There is no other way."  
"Yes there is. I'm not saying you can't stay with Edward, just stay human. I'm not trying to get rid of you, Bella. I'm just trying to protect you from making the wrong decision."  
"What about the Volturi?" I was getting mad now. Couldn't she see that there was no changing my mind? "They'll kill me if I stay human."  
"Edward has had other idea's about how to deal with the Volturi." She frowned. I knew she didn't approve of his plan. Neither did I.  
"You really think I'm going to let Edward risk his life protecting me while I stay human? No, Rosalie, I'm not staying human. I've decided to become one of you, and there is no way you can change my mind."  
"Please, Bella, reconsider." She whispered.  
"No, Rosalie." I said, my voice getting louder. I knew she was trying to protect me, but couldn't she understand? One way or another, my human life would have to end.  
Suddenly, Rosalie disappeared. Then I heard the door open behind me.  
"Are you alright, Bella? I heard voices. Is someone here?" Charlie asked.  
I turned to him, "No, Dad. I'm just getting ready for bed." I grabbed my pair of pajamas off the floor.  
"Alright," He said looking around the room suspiciously, "Well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Bella."  
"'Night, Dad." I said as he closed the door behind him.  
I turned around expecting Rosalie to be back, but the room was empty. I sighed and grabbed my stuff and walked across the hall to the bathroom.  
As I brushed my teeth and got into my pajamas I thought about what Rosalie said. I knew it would be permanent, I knew I would be leaving a lot behind. But did I have a choice? If I didn't become a vampire, the Volturi would kill me. But if I did, I would never again see Charlie, Renee, my friends, Jacob.  
Jacob, if I did turn into a vampire, he and his werewolf pack would have to kill my family and I if they ever saw us again.  
The thought of Jacob made me feel frustrated. I had tried to call him; but he either never answered, or Billy said he wasn't there, which I didn't know if Billy was telling the truth or not. Eventually, I had given up trying to reach him.  
But my friends and family were the reason I had to leave, because, whether I was a vampire or human, I would put everyone in danger. Anyone near me would be at constant risk. I was a danger magnet. Leaving was the only choice I had, the only way to keep everyone I loved from getting hurt.  
After I was ready for bed, I walked into my room. For some reason, I had expected Rosalie to be there. So when I saw Edward in my room instead of Rosalie, I jumped.  
"Oh!"  
Edward sat up off my bed and walked over to me. He put his arms around me.  
"Sorry, did I frighten you?" He asked.  
"No, it's just that I had been expecting…" I stopped. Would it be okay to tell him? I didn't know.  
"Rosalie." He finished for me.  
"You know?"  
"I ran into her on my way here. Literally." He smiled as he, I guessed, remembered colliding into Rosalie as they ran at vampire speed in opposite directions.  
"You aren't mad at her, are you? She was just trying to help." I defended her. I didn't want to make any discord in his family over something so silly.  
"No, I'm not mad. Though, from her thoughts, it seems she did make you upset. Are you okay?"  
"I'm fine." I lied.  
"Bella, you're not a very good liar."  
I sighed.  
"Well, it's just that she's right, about one thing anyway. I will be leaving a lot behind. But that's why I have to be changed, that's why I have to leave. Because, as long as I stay here, I'm putting everyone I care about in danger. Leaving is my only option. And, while I'm at it, I might as well get one thing I want. You," I leaned my head against his chest, "For eternity."  
"Bella, I'm not going to change you if this is just to make everyone else happy. Only if it's what you want. I'm not going to force you into this." Edward said.  
"I want you to change me, I'll just miss my parents and my friends."  
Edward gently pushed me off his chest so that I could see his topaz eyes. He kept his hands on my shoulders.  
"This is not going to turn into a choice between me and your family. I'm yours as long as you want me, no matter where you are, whether you're a vampire or a human, I'm yours."  
"I know that. But there is no choice to make. You are my family," I showed him the ring on my fourth finger on my left hand as proof, "The only thing I want more than you is you for eternity."  
Edward sighed.  
"Just remember, you don't have to do this."  
"Don't worry, I won't forget." I said. I closed my eyes and laid my head against his chest again, inhaling the scent of his shirt.  
"Alright, it's time for you to sleep." Edward said.  
"I don't want to sleep." I complained. I grabbed at his shirt as if trying to hold myself there. Not that it helped. He picked me up and carried me over to my bed.  
"You need to rest. I won't leave." He said as he laid me down on my bed. He gave me a quick kiss and then lay next to me, placing the covers between him and me so I couldn't feel his cold skin, and started singing my lullaby again. Soon I fell asleep.

I felt tears drip down my face as I hugged my Dad for the last time. We were at the airport; Edward and I were about to go to Alaska where I would spend my last human moments before he changed me. This would be the last time I would see Charlie. I had already said goodbye to Renee over the phone. She hadn't been able to come see me off because it was so soon, and she couldn't get a plane ticket. That was fine, I didn't want her to see how I cried when I heard her voice for the last time.  
"Bella, you don't have to go if you don't want to." Charlie reminded me.  
"I know," I glanced at Edward, his face was empty of emotion again, and then looked back at Charlie, "But I want to go."  
"It'll be fine, Bells. It's just college. It's not like we'll never see each other again."  
I couldn't stop the fresh flow of tears that came. Charlie hugged me one more time.  
"It'll be fine, Bells, It'll be fine." He chanted in my ear. Then he released me.  
"Your plane's about to leave. You best get going." He said.  
I looked at his face; he gave me a weak smile.  
"I love you, Dad." I said.  
"I love you, too, Bella."  
"Bye." I whispered as I backed way.  
"Bye, Honey. See you at Christmas time!" He said as he waved goodbye.  
I didn't say anything. I turned away and almost ran to the terminal with Edward beside me. I didn't look back, incase my will power to get on the plane faltered.  
When we were on the plane, I waited impatiently for take off. I suddenly wanted all of this to be over, to get the hard stuff over with and then be with Edward forever. But my impatience wasn't enough to keep the pain of loss away. It wasn't as bad as when Edward had left, but it was still bad. How many times would I have to suffer this kind of pain? How many times would I have to go through this? Would there never be an end?  
I tried to distract myself from the pain by thinking of something else. How would I get Edward to leave me during the three days it would take for me to transform? It was hard to get Edward to leave me during a normal day, not that I minded, but how would I get him to leave me when I needed him most? When I was in pain, screaming and twisting in agony, I shuddered. But I knew that it would hurt Edward to see me like that, especially when he knew that he had been the one to bite me. I couldn't let him go through that, no matter how much my selfish self wanted him to stay. Maybe I would talk to Alice…?  
Finally the plane took off. When we were able to take our seatbelts off, I took mine off so I could lean against Edward. He wrapped his cold arms around me. I didn't look at his face, afraid of what I might find there. I continued to think of ways to get Edward away from me for three days when I was unable to do anything about it.  
The next thing I knew, I felt Edward kiss the top of my head and then gently shake me.  
"Time to wake up, sleeping beauty, we're here."  
"Oh." I said as I opened my eyes.  
I had fallen asleep. Everyone was walking past us to the door.  
It was freezing as we exited the plane; the sky was gray and cloudy. I shivered from the cold, wanting to kick myself for leaving my jacket in my suitcase. Edward, who had not forgotten his jacket, took his off and put it on me. I knew the cold wouldn't bother him, so I didn't object.  
Edward didn't have his silver Volvo, the rest of the Cullens would bring it with them, somehow; so we had to ride in a shuttle. As we got in, I suddenly remembered we were going to Tanya's family's house.  
"What is Tanya's family like?" I whispered so that the driver couldn't hear us.  
"Well, they're like us. They don't drink human blood. Remember?" He whispered back.  
"Yeah, I know that. But, I mean, what are they like…?" I struggled to find the right words, "Are they nice or, uh, you know."  
"Their nice," He seemed hesitant, "There's not much to tell."  
I felt like there was something he was trying to keep from me. I racked my brain for everything he had ever told me about Tanya's family. They were all 'vegetarians' as they called themselves, only drinking animal blood. I remembered how Rosalie had said that there were a lot of females in the clan, how Edward had not shown any preference to any of them when they lived with them in Denali. Though nothing had happened, it had still bothered me. Maybe Edward was trying not to remind me of that conversation I had with him. Then I remembered how Tanya's family wouldn't come help the Cullens fight the newborn vampires from Seattle because the werewolves had killed Laurent, who had been in James and Victoria's group. When James and Victoria had started hunting me, Laurent had gone up to visit Tanya's family. Irina, a member of Tanya's family, had grown very close to him. When the werewolves killed him, she said they would help the Cullens in return for permission to attack the werewolf pack. The Cullens had refused, and weren't on very good terms with Irina anymore.  
"What about Irina?" I whispered to Edward after a while.  
"Irina isn't very pleased that we're coming, but the rest of them are fine with it. Irina knows that we won't be there permanently, so she shouldn't be difficult."  
I was silent as I digested that.  
"This driver is going so slow." Edward moaned under his breath.  
I giggled.

I gasped when we reached the house. I had been expecting something like the Cullens house, but it was entirely different.  
It was a large, 2 story, log home surrounded by forest. The wooden exterior seemed to be made of cedar. The rectangular windows had black shutters, matching the color of the door and roof. On one side of the house was a large turret, which made the house look like it was from medieval times. The yard was beautiful; the grass was deep green, surrounded by bunches of flowers. A short wall of rock surrounded the yard, breaking where a wooden path led from the gravel road to the cozy looking front porch. All together, it looked very majestic. To call this place a house was an insult. Castle seemed to be the right word.  
"Wow." I breathed.  
"It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" Edward said.  
"Amazing." I repeated stupidly.  
Edward tipped the shuttle driver, took our suite cases, and then we walked up the wooden path to the house. As Edward knocked on the door, I gulped.  
"It'll be fine." He said, but I thought I heard a bit of doubt in his voice. I took a deep breath.  
When someone opened the door I felt my lower jaw drop.  
The woman who opened the door, who looked to be about nineteen or twenty, was gorgeous beyond belief. Her strawberry blonde hair fell in waves around her face, her golden eyes were perfectly almond shaped, and her lavender lips were full and perfect. Her skin was vampire pale. Her tight shirt and jeans emphasized her already perfect figure. She was almost as beautiful as Rosalie.  
"Hi," She said pleasantly, "We've been expecting you," Then she turned to Edward "It's nice to see you again, Edward." Her tone was full of adoration as she tried to flirt with him. I felt a surge of jealousy run through me. I looked at Edward to see his reaction. His face was emotionless.  
"It's nice to see you, too, Tanya." Edward's voice was polite, but I thought I heard an edge of annoyance in his tone.  
Tanya seemed to pick it up, too. She turned to me.  
"And you must be the future vampire, Isabella Swan. Well, according to Esme, you're now Isabella Cullen." She glanced at Edward, disappointment in her eyes, but quickly turned back to me.  
"Bella." I corrected, my tone acidic.  
"Well, why don't you come inside?" She gestured inside, moving aside so Edward and I get through.  
"Thank you." Edward said as we walked in, his tone unchanged. I wondered what he could hear her thinking, and I guessed that I probably didn't want to know.  
The inside of the house was shocking as well. I had been expecting the front room to be huge like at the Cullens house, but it was exactly the opposite. Instead, it was small and cozy. Two, comfortable looking couches sat against opposite walls with a wooden coffee table between them and a large fireplace, which seemed to have never been used, took up the space on the wall facing us. Across from the front room was a small staircase.  
"You can put your suite cases there." Tanya told Edward, pointing to the floor next to the coffee table. While Edward put our suite cases down, Tanya walked to the bottom of the stairs.  
"Kate, Carmen, Eleazar, Irina, come down. Our guests have arrived." Tanya said, her voice as quiet as if they were standing right in front of her.  
Suddenly, three people were standing next to Tanya. Two were female and the other was male.  
The first girl seemed very excited when she saw Edward and I. Her hair was light brown and cut short, about an inch above her shoulders. She was tall and very thin, but didn't have much of a figure. The second girl, who held the boy's hand, had long black hair. She was very tall, with long legs. Though her skin was albino white, she had Hispanic features. The boy, too, had Hispanic features despite his pale skin. His height was average and his black hair was very short.  
"Where's Irina?" Tanya asked them.  
"She said she doesn't want to see them." The brown haired girl said, her happy mood disappearing.  
Tanya sighed.  
"I'm so sorry. She's still upset about Laurent's death." She spoke to Edward mostly, but glanced at me when she said Laurent's name.  
"I understand." Edward said politely.  
Tanya then looked at me and saw my confused expression.  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you didn't know. This is Carmen," She pointed to the girl with long black hair, "and Eleazar," She pointed to the black haired boy, "They're married, by the way."  
"Pleased to meet you, Isabella." Carmen said as she stretched her arm across the small space between us and shook my hand.  
"Bella." I corrected again. It felt like my first day of school, except it was another house full of vampires instead of a school full of kids.  
"Bella." She repeated, smiling beautifully. Eleazar smiled, too.  
"And this is Katrina." Tanya continued, pointing to the brown haired girl, whose hyper mood had returned. She skipped gracefully to me and took my hand.  
"Call me Kate." She said cheerfully as she shook my hand. She reminded me of Alice, only taller.  
As Kate walked back to take her place next to Carmen, Tanya walked over to our suite cases and picked them up.  
"I'll show you to your room." She said. She started up the stairs at human speed, so I could catch up, I guessed. Edward and I followed.  
"I hope you're okay with sharing a bedroom. If the rest of the Cullens are coming, we'll need to leave room for them." Tanya said as we walked down a long hallway.  
"That'll be fine." Edward assured her.  
Our bedroom was at the end of the hallway. Somehow, Tanya opened the door while holding both of our suitcases. When we entered, I repressed a sigh. Tanya's family, too, had bought a bed for me. It was large, with metal posts painted white. The covers and pillows were white, too.  
The room was very large. The floors were wooden. The ceiling and walls were white. The walls were empty except for the large bay window that faced the west. The sky outside was very dark.  
"Do you like it?" Tanya asked us.  
"It's wonderful." I said.  
"It's great. Thank you so much for your hospitality." Edward said.  
"Any time," Tanya replied, "Are you hungry, Bella? We bought you some food." She asked me.  
"Yeah, sure. Thanks."  
"Alright, then. I'll let you two unpack." She said. Then she left the room.  
"What was that about?" I asked when I thought Tanya was out of earshot.  
"What was what about?" Edward asked innocently.  
"You know-Tanya. I saw how she looked at you. I thought you told her you weren't interested."  
"I did. But, apparently, she still has feelings for me despite what I told her," He took in my expression-which I tried to control, but to no prevail-and he smiled, "Are you jealous?"  
"No, I'm not jealous. I was just curious." I said too quickly. I blushed. Edward walked over to me and put his arms around me.  
"Bella, there is no need for you to be jealous. You are the only one I've ever loved and ever will love. My heart will always be yours as long as you want it, and no one will ever change that."  
I sighed and laid my head against his chest.  
"I know." I whispered.  
I felt Edward lean his head down and kiss my hair. I reached my face up and my lips found his and we kissed. Even though I believed him, I still felt a little jealous. In fact, one part of me wanted Tanya to enter the room and find Edward and I this way.  
Hopefully, she'd get a clue and back off. I crushed myself against his body and put more enthusiasm into the kiss. Apparently too much enthusiasm, because, all too soon, Edward pulled away. I tried to force my lips back to his, but he restrained me.  
"Bella…" He said, shaking his head.  
"I don't care." I said, still struggling to kiss him again, though I knew it was hopeless.  
"Well you should." He said.  
I didn't say anything.  
"Let's get you something to eat." Edward said as he began to lead me to the door.  
Though I knew it was ridiculous, I felt depressed that he hadn't continued to kiss me. I felt that the reason was because he didn't want me, though I knew the real reason; he craved my blood as the scent of it screamed at him. I was his 'La tua cantante' or 'his singer' as Aro from the Volturi had put it. But I knew that my blood wouldn't be a temptation to him for much longer.

**Alright.. that was chapter 6. So plz review i will allow flames but plz tell me wat yall think ok?**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 7: Transformation

Now that some of the hardships were over, such as leaving my family and human life behind me, other worries were starting to resurface. I now found myself fearing the time when Edward would change me. One of the reasons, of course, was the pain, which I was not looking forward to. Then there was the worry that, once I was a bloodthirsty newborn, I wouldn't feel the same about Edward anymore. That all I would care about was blood. I knew that being a vampire was what I wanted, but I didn't want to lose Edward in the process. And the fact that Tanya was still trying to flirt with him was not helping. I didn't tell Edward my renewed worry. I knew that he would try to reassure me, and then tell me that if I didn't want to be changed, I didn't have to. I wanted to be changed, but I wished that there were someway I could guarantee the return of my sanity afterwards.

When the rest of the Cullens arrived, they started getting ready for my transformation. Despite the fact that his eyes were still golden, Edward wanted to hunt before changing me. He said he didn't want to take any chances. So, all of the Cullens left to go on their hunting trip, leaving me in the care of Tanya's family. So all I could do was sit, wait, and let my worries take me over. I sat down on one of the couches next to the large, empty, fireplace in the front room. As I sat there in the silence, the conversation that Rosalie and I had had ran through my mind;

_"Yes, I know that's what you want now. But have you thought about what you will want in the future? In the future you may be wishing that you stayed human. This is a permanent thing, Bella. I thought I had been clear before, but apparently I wasn't clear enough. You can't do this, Bella. You are throwing your whole future away! You can't do this!"_

Rosalie had said.  
_"My future isn't a future at all without Edward. There is no other way."_ I had answered.  
But what if, when I was a vampire, I didn't want him anymore? What if, by becoming a vampire, I was throwing a whole future _with Edward_ away? But I knew that if I didn't become a vampire, I wouldn't have a future at all. The Volturi would see to that. And I wouldn't let Edward risk his life that way trying to protect me. I would have to become a vampire. There was no other way…

"Are you alright? You look really pale."  
I jumped when a voice came from right beside me. I turned and saw that it was Kate.  
"Sorry." She said as she sat down next to me.  
After my breathing returned to normal I answered the last part of her question, "I'm always pale." Unless I'm blushing, I added mentally.  
She laughed quietly, "I guess you are, if you're from Forks. You can rarely see the sun down there. Not that you see the sun around here very often." She looked down, lost in thought, for a moment before looking back up. "_Are_ you alright?"  
"I'm fine." I lied.  
She looked at me doubtfully. "Are you afraid of being changed?"  
"A little." I said quietly.  
A thought came to my mind. Maybe I could ask Kate. Maybe she could help me understand all of this. I didn't know how that would help. I didn't know anything about her. But it couldn't hurt.

"I'm worried," I finally said, "about…my sanity…afterwards." I took a deep breath and tried again, "I'm worried that I won't love Edward the same way once I'm a vampire. That all I'll care about is blood…" I stopped as an amused smile spread across Kate's face.  
"What?" I asked, confused.  
Suddenly, Eleazar was there-standing next to Kate-with a smile on his face, too.  
"You were going to come get me, Kate?" He asked her, still smiling.  
"Yes, Bella seems to be worrying about how she'll feel about Edward when she's a vampire, and I thought that you could help her out a bit." Kate said without looking at him, still smiling at me. Then her smile disappeared, replaced by frustration.

"Okay, Kate. You can stop playing with Bella's mind." Eleazar said to Kate, his smile disappearing, too.  
"I'm not doing anything. It's not working." Kate said, her frustration turning into anger. I remembered that Kate was supposed to have a special power like Edward, Alice, and Jasper. Apparently, whatever she was trying to do, it wasn't working on me because of the strange glitch in my brain.

"It's not working?" Eleazar asked, looking back and forth between Kate and I.  
"It's not just her. Edward can't use his gift on me either. He can't read my mind." I explained.  
Kate looked at me in confusion, "Why is that?"  
"We're not sure. Alice said it was because my mind was a safe place and that no one could reach me there." I said.

Kate still looked at me, confused, and then shrugged, "Anyway, you're worried you won't love Edward anymore once you're a vampire. Is that correct?"  
"Yes."  
"Well, Eleazar might be able to ease your mind." She stood up and looked at Eleazar as she gestured to her seat.  
"I don't know, Kate." Eleazar said as he sat down, his voice full of doubt.  
"Oh, come on. If she's brave enough to hang out with vampires, she can handle listening to your life's story," She said to Eleazar, and then looked at me as she backed up toward the door past the stairs, "Have fun." She said, then she turned around went through the doorway and closed the door behind her.

"Ah, Kate. You can never really rein her in." Eleazar mumbled.  
"So, what is your story?" I asked, suddenly curious, "Unless you don't want to tell me." I said, incase it was something he didn't want me to know.  
"No, it's fine. Kate's right, it might help you," He looked down-trying to decide where to start, I guessed-and then looked back up, "what have the Cullens told you about our family?" He asked me.

"Not much," I answered, "Edward told me that you lived in Alaska and that you didn't drink human blood."  
"Hmm." Eleazar looked down again. It was silent for a long moment before he spoke again, "Well, the world was a lot different when we were born," He said as he looked up, "Tanya, Kate, and Irina were born during a more peaceful time in Slovakia. Tanya changed Kate and Irina and together they discovered that they didn't need to drink human blood. They love men," he rolled his eyes, "even human men. They hated killing them. That's how they started drinking animal blood, so they wouldn't need to kill any more men. They lived in Slovakia, living in a remote area, for many years. They lived a very peaceful life, until the war started.  
"I was born in Spain during the Eighty Years war. The Spanish Empire was fighting against the Ottoman Empire, but I never got involved. When I was eighteen years old, I wouldn't have even known there was a war going on if there hadn't been soldiers marching up and down the streets all the time-not when I was around Carmen.

"Carmen and I had been friends for a long time. Our relationship had grown and we fell in love with each other. She was all I could ever think about, she was-and still is-my whole world.

"But when my father joined the army, he asked me to join him. I was worried about my father. He was very old and I didn't know if he could fight well. I couldn't get him to change his mind and stay home, so I decided to fight with him-to watch out for him. I promised Carmen that I would do everything in my power to return to her before I left. She gave me this," He lifted a small locket that hung around his neck with his index finger so I could see it, "for me to remember her by.

"I found that I was very good on the battle field. I had a knack at predicting what my enemies would do before they did it. My father and I survived many battles. But when we fought in the battle in Slovakia, my little talent didn't help when we were surrounded. There were too many of them, and I was fately wounded. I lay on the ground, waiting for death to take me. I thought I had died when I saw a beautiful face, the face of an angel, looking down on me," He smiled, amusment in his eyes, "It was Tanya. Her house was close by and she had been watching the battle. She had thought that I was handsome and wanted to save me when I was hurt. Everyone else was busy fighting, so no one noticed when she took me away. She changed me," he looked at my face, and I wondered what he saw there. I was too enthralled by his story to tell what my face was showing. Whatever he saw made him edit,

"They told me what I'd become and how they lived. I agreed to live the same way. It was hard, I was new and my thirst for human blood was strong. I stayed away from humans. But even though my whole life had been changed, I never forgot about Carmen. I asked Tanya if I could see her. It was becoming very hard to live without her. Tanya wouldn't let me. She said I was still too young and unable to control myself and that I would probably kill Carmen. I didn't know if Tanya was restraining me because she wanted to protect Carmen, or if she was just jealous of Carmen. Whatever the reason, she wouldn't let me go. Whenever I tried to escape, Kate used her ability-to confuse people-on me, making me unable to remember why I wanted to leave. But I found that my knack for predicting everyone's next move had become stronger, and I was able to get around Tanya and her family. Despite the danger it held for her, I went to see Carmen.

"I visted her in her room in the middle of the night. She had many questions for me. I was supposed to have been killed in battle. But I couldn't answer any of her questions. I was trying to concentrate on not killing her. The scent of her blood was too strong for me. I thought I could control myself, but I slipped. I bit her," He looked away from me, but not before I saw the pain in his eyes, "But, I was able to pull myself away. I found the will to stop drinking her blood. I took her back to Tanya's home. After three days, I explained to her what had happened, what I'd done to her," his voice cracked, "She believed me and she joined our family. But we had to leave soon after. Carmen's parents had set up a search party for her. So, we moved here, to Alaska."

He looked up at me and smiled.

"So you see? Just because you will crave blood doesn't mean you'll stop loving Edward. You won't even have to worry about killing him." He laughed weakly.

"But how were you able to stop?" I asked. He knew what I meant.  
"I'm not exactly sure. I think it was because-I loved her so much-the thought of her ceasing to exist because of me was just too horrible. My love for her was enough to make me stop," He smiled at me again, "So if you love Edward as much as you say you do, I highly doubt there will be a problem."

I looked up when the door next to the stairs opened. Carmen entered the room.  
"Eleazar, what are you doing? I've been looking for you. Irina is…" She stopped when she saw me.

"I was just telling Bella our story." Eleazar said as he stood up and walked over to her. He put his arms around her.

"Oh." She said. She smiled and then kissed Eleazar on his cheek.  
"Let's go calm Irina down. She's going to have to get used to the Cullens being here sometime," Eleazar said to Carmen, then he turned to me, "I hope I helped you, Bella. Just because you'll be a vampire doesn't mean you'll have to lose your sanity." Eleazar smiled again and then he and Carmen were gone.

I sat there in the silence for what seemed to be a very long time. I thought about Eleazar's story, how he had been able to stop himself from killing Carmen. It reminded me of how Edward-after he thought I'd killed myself-was now able to control himself. He had lived for twenty-four hours thinking I was dead. It hadn't changed the way I smelled to him, but he now looked at a lot of things differently. Was that the same thing that had happened to Eleazar? Maybe my lust for blood wouldn't be enough to change how I felt about Edward. And, as Eleazar had said, I wouldn't even have to worry about killing him. I would just have to wait and see.

When the Cullens returned, all of their eyes a light butterscotch, they began preparing for my transformation the next day. I would spend the three days it would take me to change on Edward's and my bed. Carlisle was going to try to use morphine on me so that the pain wouldn't be so bad.

I sat on Edward's lap with his arms around me as the rest of the Cullens got everything ready. My breathing was ragged.  
"It'll be fine. I swear I will control myself." Edward whispered in my ear.  
"I know. I trust you." I whispered back.  
Suddenly, Carlisle was standing next to us.  
"I want to show you something, Edward." He said.  
Edward nodded, and then he stood up and sat me down on the chair he had just been sitting on. I grabbed his hand. I didn't want him to leave me.

"It'll only take a minute, Bella. Carlisle is just going to show me how to bi- make it less painful for you." Edward said, his face pained.  
I nodded and released his hand. Then Carlisle and Edward were gone.  
Just a few seconds after Edward left, Alice suddenly appeared next to me. She leaned down so her head was at the same level as mine.  
"Nervous?" She asked.  
I just nodded my head.  
"It just three days. It won't be too bad, I guess. Actually, I'm not sure. I don't remember when I was changed." She said.

"Alice," I looked up at her, "I was wondering if you could do me a favor."  
"Sure, what is it?" She asked.  
"I don't want Edward to have to be there…while I'm changing. I don't want him to have to see that. I was wondering if you could try…to keep him away."  
"I don't know. I could try, but it won't be easy-"  
"Alice, please." I begged.  
"Alright, Bella. I will, don't worry." Alice said, her tone more serious now.  
I sighed in relief, "Thank you."  
Suddenly, Carlisle and Edward were standing next to Alice.  
"Are you ready, Bella?" Carlisle asked me.  
I took a deep breath. "Yes."  
Edward took my hand and helped me out of the chair. Then we walked, at human speed, to our room with Carlisle and Alice behind us.  
The rest of the Cullen family was there in our room. Even Tanya's family, except for Irina, was there.  
Edward and I walked to the bed. It felt like we were in a funeral procession. I took another deep breath and I lied down on the bed. Edward, too, took a deep breath and then leaned down and brought his lips to my throat.

"Wait." I said. He stopped and looked at me.  
I took my hands, placed them on both sides of his face, and brought his lips to mine. I focused on the way his lips moved with mine. The feeling, the taste, the smell. I tried to plant it in my mind permanently so that I would remember this when all of my other human memories faded away with time.

The kiss started out sweet, but then he began to kiss me with a stronger passion-almost desperation-as if this would be the last time we would ever kiss. My heart went wild, as if it knew it wouldn't be beating for much longer. My breathing became even more uneven.  
I wanted to stay here with him forever. I wanted time to stop so I wouldn't have to become a bloodthirsty vampire. I didn't want to have to worry about the countless enemies I had waiting in the shadows. I never wanted this moment to end.

But, despite me trying to bring his lips back to mine, Edward ended the kiss. I was surprised I could hear his uneven breathing past my own. He smiled.

"I love you, Bella." He said.  
I smiled back, "I love you, too, Edward."  
I looked at his glorious face on last time, my last human memory, before closing my eyes.  
And then the pain started.


	10. Chapter 10

**DAY ONE**

**DAY TWO**

**DAY THREE**

Chapter 8: Control

Relief flooded through me as the pain began to fade from my fingertips. I had felt as if my whole body had been engulfed in flames for months, though I knew it had only been three days. All I could remember from those three days was the agony, joined by my own tortured screams. I hoped that Alice had succeeded in getting Edward to leave.  
I twisted in pain one last time before the burning disappeared completely. Slowly, I opened my eyes.

The room looked very different. It looked sharper, clearer. I turned my head and saw Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper standing there. I noticed everything; the slight movement of a finger, the twitch of an eye, an intake of breathe. Carlisle took a step towards me.

"Bella, are you alright? Is the pain gone?" He asked me.  
I nodded.  
"I'm so sorry, Bella. I tried to give you morphine after Edward bit you, but it didn't work. The venom destroyed it the minute the morphine was in your bloodstream." Carlisle apologized.  
His last word was what triggered it. I suddenly noticed the thirst I felt. My throat and mouth were dry. A liquid, which I guessed was the venom, flowed into my mouth. My hands balled into fists around the sheets of the bed I laid on. I tried to control it. I would not be a monster. But I didn't know how.

"Edward, her eyes are open. You can come in now." I heard Alice say in a whisper from the other room.  
I saw Edward run into the room and stop next to my bed. He hadn't been running at human speed, but my eyes were now more adjusted so that I could see him run at vampire speed. When I saw his perfect face for the first time in three days, my thirst for blood was forgotten.  
"Bella." His voice was full of relief. He leaned forward-as if about to kiss me-but then took a step back, his face suddenly cautious.

I looked at him curiously, and then sat up slowly.

"Bella, it's alright. It's over now. You'll be okay." Esme said.  
I didn't answer her. I looked around the room. It was so strange; everything seemed so much clearer, like a high definition TV compared to a normal TV.

I gasped when I saw the window. It was pitch black outside, but light inside, making the window act like a mirror-showing my reflection.

My eyes were what I saw first. They were bright red, almost glowing. But, besides that, I was beautiful. Not as beautiful as Rosalie, but I was still beautiful. My skin was like white stone, like marble. My features hadn't changed much, but they seemed slightly sharper, more angular. I heard Edward walk over to me and he stopped next to me. He slowly wrapped his arm around me. His reflection showed in the window, also. No longer did we look out of balance. We now looked like we were made for each other, equally beautiful. Except for the eyes. My blood red eyes looked evil next to Edward's golden eyes. I hoped it wouldn't take too long for my eyes to turn gold.

After Edward had wrapped his arm around me, he turned to look at me so that I could no longer see his eyes in the window. I turned to him. He looked worried.

Dozens of emotions suddenly ran through me, taking me by surprise. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressed my face into his shoulder, and started to cry.  
"Bella, what's wrong?" Edward asked. He sounded frightened.  
I let myself cry for one more moment before pulling myself away from him and trying to compose myself.

"I'm sorry," I said. I lifted my hand to wipe away any tears that had not soaked Edward's shirt, but I found none. Then I remembered that vampires didn't have tears, "I just…I can't believe it! I'm finally a vampire!" I smiled.

I was surprised by the emotions I felt. I felt happy, relieved, excited, shocked, amazed, and some emotions that I couldn't even identify. As if all of my problems were gone.  
"Welcome to the vampire world!" Emmett congratulated me. He ran to me at vampire speed and then patted my shoulder with his large hand.

The rest of the Cullens followed Emmett. Most of them were smiling, looking relieved. As everyone else began talking to me, I saw Rosalie's face. She did not seem pleased at all. I looked away. Then I saw Carlisle's face. He looked concerned. His expression worried me. Then I saw Jasper's face. He was looking away, confusion on his face.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Bella." Edward said.  
"Welcome to our family." Esme said.  
"See? I told you it would work out." Alice said.  
"Bella," When Carlisle spoke, his tone serious, everyone went silent, "Are you thirsty?"  
Why did he have to bring that up? When he reminded me, the thirst came back. My fists balled up again. I nodded stiffly.

"You'll need to hunt right away. Edward?"  
Edward, who was standing next to me, looked up.  
"We've all gone hunting recently. We don't all need to go. Do you want to take her?"  
"Of course." Edward replied. He took my hand and we turned to the door.  
"You ready?" He whispered, but I could still hear him plain as day.  
I nodded, not sure if I was or not.  
He smiled my favorite crooked smile. Then, together, we began walking at human speed. Then we ran at human speed. And then, side-by-side, we were flying.

It was easy, second nature. As if I had been running at vampire speed all my life. Together, we ran down the stairs. He opened the front door for me, and then we were in his silver Volvo. It had all taken a second. Edward started the car and then we were zooming down the road.

"You're going to love this. We may even find you a grizzly bear. It's the summer, though, so they won't be irritable, but it might become one of your favorites." Edward shrugged.  
"I hope not. Emmett would get mad. We would have to share." I said.  
Edward laughed and I laughed with him.

I found that, as I sat here with Edward joking about what I would have for dinner, that I didn't feel the thirst for blood I had felt before. It wasn't as strong, at least.

"Well, it would be good for Emmett to learn how to share. But your right, he would get mad." Edward smiled and I smiled, too, grateful that I still felt the same way about Edward. Eleazar had been right. I loved Edward. I would always love him. Not even my craving for blood could change that.

Despite the darkness of the forest, I could still see perfectly. I was able to dodge every branch and every rock as Edward and I ran through the woods.

I caught the scent before we reached it, making fresh venom flow into my mouth.  
Then we saw it. It was large, furry, and full of fresh blood. Our passage through the trees had been so quiet that it hadn't heard us, and was still unaware of our presence. I took in a breath, smelled the blood of the doomed grizzly bear we had found, and then I lost control.

I shot through the air toward the bear and Edward followed behind me. I no longer had a conscience; all I had was my instinct. I was a predator and the bear was my prey. That was all that mattered.

Killing the bear was easy. We were too strong, too fast for it. It took only a second for me to snap the grizzly's neck. Then, wild with thirst, I knelt down in the dirt and sunk my sharp, venom coated, teeth into the bear's flesh.

I ran through the forest searching for another animal, with Edward not far away doing the same. I was now excited. I remembered the taste of the grizzly bear's blood in my mouth, the feeling of it going down my throat. It had tasted delicious. I wanted more.  
Then I saw the light, a dim light past the trees. Curious, I ran towards it.

I gasped when I saw the source of the light. I braced myself, waiting for the thirst to hit. I hoped Edward was nearby so he could stop me before I killed the group of happy humans that sat around the campfire.

A second passed, then another second, and then another. I waited for my instincts to take over, for me to lose control. But nothing happened. I couldn't smell their blood, though I knew I was close enough to do so. What was wrong?

"Bella!" Edward whispered from behind me, his voice panicked. He grabbed my arms and began pulling me back.  
"Edward, I'm alright," I turned to him. Confusion replaced the panic on his face, "I'm under control. I can't smell them."  
Though I told him I was under control, he took my hand and began pulling me away. When we were miles away from the campsite, he stopped.  
"You couldn't smell them?" Edward asked, confusion still on his face.  
I shook my head.  
Edward was silent for a moment.  
"We need to talk to Carlisle." He finally said. He took my hand once more and we were flying again.  
We stopped once on the way back to Edward's Volvo when we found another animal, a Caribou. But then we ran at full speed to the car. I didn't speak the whole time until we were shooting down the road at one hundred miles per hour.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked. I knew, as well as he did, that what had occurred was not normal…for a vampire.

He turned to me and lifted one of his hands to face, keeping the other hand on the steering wheel. He laid his hand on my cheek.

"There is nothing wrong with you. It was just a little strange, that's all. Everything will be alright." He comforted me.  
I nodded, still staring into his golden eyes, not entirely convinced.  
When we reached the house we ran inside and burst into the kitchen. The kitchen was not small, but not large either. The cupboards were wooden and the long counter tops were marble. Carlisle stood against the nearest counter across from Jasper, both of them lost in thought until we entered. They both looked up.

"What's wrong?" Carlisle asked when he saw my face. I didn't know what he saw there. I wasn't paying attention.

"Carlisle, something…strange happened," Edward said, "Bella came across a campsite full of people. She was defiantly close enough to catch their scent, but she couldn't smell a thing."  
Carlisle looked at Jasper for a moment, his face full of understanding, before turning to me.  
"I thought this would happen," He said, "After you had became a vampire, you felt thirst-but it wasn't strong enough. It's usually stronger; it was for all of us. I wondered why that was.  
"Jasper and I were just talking about it. I think it may be because you chose this way of life willingly, unlike the rest of us. Maybe you have gained more control."

I suddenly felt excited. More control meant a better chance that I would not become a monster. But then I thought of something.  
"Vampire's sometimes get special talents, right?" I turned to Edward, "What if this is my special talent."  
"You can't have two special powers." Jasper said. I turned to him, confusion spread across my face.  
What did he mean two powers?  
Jasper saw my expression and nodded. "When you started crying upstairs, I had tried to calm you down. But I didn't affect you at all. I couldn't even feel the tenor of your emotions. My talent hadn't worked on you.

"Carlisle believes that your ability to protect your mind has now spread to your body. No vampire power can affect your mind or body."

I felt shock replace the confusion on my face. Was this true? Could I now protect my body as well as my mind? Yes. I could. I could feel it in my un-beating heart


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 9: Decision

Now that I was a vampire, I could no longer sleep. This meant that I could spend the night with Edward instead of sleeping.

After our discussion with Carlisle and Jasper was over, Edward and I went up to our room where we would spend the night together undisturbed. When we were in our room, Edward sat me on the bed where I had spent my transformation and then sat down next to me.

"I can't believe it! Alice said that I might be different because I would become a vampire of my own free will, but I didn't know I'd get more control!" I smiled.

Edward smiled, too, my favorite crooked smile.  
"I still can't believe I'm a vampire." I whispered to myself, though I knew Edward could hear.  
Edward's smile disappeared.

"You had scared me for a minute there. I thought you had changed your mind after it was to late." He said.  
"Sorry." I mumbled.  
"You're fine though, right? You're not having second thoughts?" He asked me.  
"No, I'm fine." I said.  
It was silent for a moment. Then I thought of something.  
"We'll need to tell the Volturi."  
"Yes, Carlisle was thinking about that before we came back from our hunting trip. He thinks we'll visit them in a few days." Edward said.

I remembered the long, cold, dark, stone hallways, the posh reception area where the future vampire-Gianna-stood smiling, and the large stone antechamber where they brought unsuspecting tourists for dinner. I shivered at the thought of returning to that place.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked, concern in his voice.  
"I'm fine. It's just going back to Volterra…" I shivered again.  
"I know. I'm not happy about going back, either." Edward said.  
Then I thought of something else.

"Do you think they'll ask us again?"  
"Ask us what?"  
"To join them." I said.  
"Probably." Edward answered.  
I nodded slowly, looking away.  
"What will happen if we refuse?" I asked.  
"I don't know." He said.  
My breathing began to quicken, but not because of my heart. My heart was now silent, as it would be for eternity. I breathed air in and out of my lungs only out of habit, and my breathing picked up speed only at the thought of what might happen if Edward, Alice, and I declined Aro's proposition.

Edward wrapped his arms around me and leaned his lips down to my ear.  
"Everything will be alright. Nothing bad will happen. Everything will be alright." He chanted in a whisper.

I leaned my head against his chest as I tried to calm down. I was a vampire now, as they wanted. We had not broken any rules. We should be okay. But if they wanted something, they could twist the rules. Their lateness to the battle between the Cullens and the newborns had proven that. My breathing sped up again.

I tried to stop thinking, tried to pull myself together. But it didn't work. I found that I could think of multiple things at once. The Volturi, my discovered power, my self-control. I even found myself thinking about Jacob in one part of my mind. How was he? Was he alright? Did he know I was a vampire? Would he and his werewolf pack come looking for us?

As if it wasn't hard enough to stop myself from thinking about one thing, but multiple things at once? I wanted to forget everything. There was only one thing I could think of that could have that effect on me, and I craved it more then I had craved the blood of the grizzly bear we had found in the forest. I closed my eyes and lifted my head, my lips searching. Edward knew what I was looking for and brought his lips down to mine.

No longer did we need to be cautious. No longer did Edward need to keep himself under control so that I wouldn't get killed. Edward placed one hand on my shoulder and the other found the small of my back and pressed me against his body. I wrapped my arms around his neck and grabbed two fistfuls of his bronze hair and pressed his face closer to mine. It worked. I forgot everything except the feeling of his lips on mine. My breathing matched his, hard and fast. But we never broke apart. We didn't need to. Air was not a priority.

Though the kiss went on for a long time, it seemed like only seconds. Neither of us tried to end it. There was no reason to do so. This is what I had wanted: Edward for eternity. Eternity had no deadlines, no ending.

So when Edward pulled away I was shocked. I felt hurt spread across my face.  
"Jasper's coming." Edward said. He looked very annoyed about this, so was I.  
"Why?" I asked, my tone thick with irritation.

Before Edward could answer, there was a knock on the door.  
"Come in, Jasper." Edward said, not taking his eyes off me.  
The door opened and Jasper entered the room. Edward turned to him.  
"Couldn't this have waited until tomorrow?" Edward asked him, his tone full of annoyance.  
"Sorry." Jasper said quietly, but stayed where he was.  
Edward sighed, and then gestured to me.  
"Go ahead." He said, his voice calmer.  
Jasper turned to me.

"Um, Bella. I was wondering if you could do something for me."  
I waited, curious. I kept my face emotionless.  
"Well, Emmett and I made a bet. He thinks that he'd be able to beat you in a wrestling match, even though you're a newborn, and I bet that you'd win. So I was wondering if you two could have a wrestling match, prove him wrong…"  
He stopped when I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  
"Well, it doesn't have to be a wrestling match. Maybe just an arm-wrestling match or something." Jasper shrugged.  
Suddenly, I burst out laughing as I remembered something that Edward had said from my past life-my human life: "Do me a favor and challenge him to an arm-wrestling match. It would be a good experience for him."

Jasper looked at me like I was crazy.  
I calmed myself down before I spoke.  
"Okay, Jasper. One match." I said smiling.  
Jasper beamed at me before running out the room and down the stairs.

"Emmett! Bella's coming!" I heard him call out once he was down-stairs.  
I turned to Edward. He was smiling.  
"Real quick." I whispered. Then he took my hand and we flew down the stairs after Jasper.  
Everything was ready. Emmett sat on the floor at one end of the coffee table in the front room. Alice sat on one of the couches next to Jasper holding his hand. Rosalie sat alone on the other couch. Carlisle and Esme were just coming in from the kitchen.

Emmett jumped up when Edward and I arrived.  
"Hey, Bella. You ready to wrestle?" He said with a big grin on his face.  
I laughed, "We're just arm-wrestling, Emmett."  
Emmett sat back down, still grinning. I reluctantly let go of Edward's hand and sat down across from him. I heard Edward sit down on the couch behind me. Esme walked over to the fireplace and faced us. Emmett put his right arm on the table-elbow on the table's surface, arm lifted, and hand open-and I did the same. I couldn't help but have a grin on my face like Emmett.

"Ready?" Esme started.  
Emmett and I clasped our hands together.  
"Set?"  
I saw Jasper-in the corner of my eye-shift his weight.  
"Go!"  
It was too easy. In a fraction-of-a-second Emmett's arm crashed to the tabletop, my arm on top of his.

"Bella wins!" Esme declared.  
"No! That's not fair!" Emmett complained, and then turned back to me, "Re-match!" He demanded.

Everyone-besides Emmett-started laughing, including myself.

"No rematches," Jasper said, then he leaned down to Emmett, "I'll expect the keys to your Jeep tomorrow morning." Jasper smiled.

Emmett turned to him and growled, looking like a vampire. With Emmett being as big as he was and then looking at Jasper with pure rage on his face, he looked terrifying. I stood up and then sat down between Edward and Rosalie on the couch.

"Don't worry, I'll give it back to you day-after-tomorrow, just as I promised. But I get it all day tomorrow." Jasper's smile widened.  
Emmett hissed at him and then turned away, folded his arms across his chest and huffed.  
Everyone started laughing again. Everyone except Alice.

The laughing stopped immediately when Alice gasped. Everyone's eyes turned to her. Her eyes were unfocused, full of terror. The last time I had seen that look in her eyes was in the meadow before Jacob had attacked.

And I knew immediately that something was wrong.  
Everyone gathered around her. Edward held my hand as we crowded around Alice.  
"Alice, what is it?" Jasper asked her in a calm voice, his hand on her shoulder. Alice didn't answer.

I looked up to Edward, knowing that he would be able to see what Alice saw in her head. Panic flooded through me when I saw his face.

Edward's eyes were wide with horror. His teeth were clenched together. His expression was a mixture of anger, panic, and fear.

I turned back to Alice, my whole body shaking.  
"Alice, what is it? What's wrong?" I almost shouted.  
Alice didn't look up. Instead she muttered one word that sent another shiver of terror through me.

"Charlie."  
I began shaking violently.  
Then Alice's eyes snapped back into focus, but the terror didn't leave her face. She looked up at me.

"The Volturi have made a decision." She whispered.  
My legs were shaking so hard I thought would collapse.  
"Alice, what happened?" I forced the words to come out.  
"They're coming." Alice whispered.  
I knew whom she was talking about.  
"Where? Here?" I asked.  
"No."  
I had been afraid of that.  
"Where?" I asked, though I knew what she would say.  
"Forks."  
I wished that vampires could fall into unconsciousness.  
"Apparently Aro was getting impatient," Edward said, his tone angry, "The whole guard is coming."

I felt my lower jaw drop in horror as I turned to him.  
"The whole guard is coming to Forks?" I asked, horrified.  
Edward nodded.  
The Volturi guard. Nine talented vampires…who drank human blood.  
"_Charlie._" Alice had said.  
"Why did you say Charlie?" I asked Alice. It was a stupid question, I knew why. But I couldn't bring myself to believe it.

Alice, who had looked away, turned to me.  
"They'll get hungry. Charlie will be one of the victims." Her voice was shaking, too.  
My legs buckled beneath me and I began to fall. Edward caught me before I hit the ground and cradled me in his arms. I pressed my face into his chest and began to sob, but no tears came out of my eyes.

"Not Charlie. Not Charlie." I cried. The words were muffled by Edward's shirt.  
Carlisle sighed.

"All we can do is hope that the werewolves will be able to handle this," His voice was full of worry, "How long until they reach Forks?" He asked Edward.  
"A couple of hours." He answered.  
That surprised me. The Volturi were all the way in Italy, it should take them a lot longer then two hours to get to Forks. I lifted my head.

"Only a couple of hours?" I asked in a whisper.  
"Aro knows about my talent. He knew we would try to hide you once I saw him give the command. He did the same thing that Victoria did. It started a few hours after Edward bit you. I didn't know what to make of it until now." Alice explained.

Victoria, the memory of her made me shudder. She had constantly changed her mind to keep Alice from seeing her create an army of newborn vampires to help her get past the Cullens and destroy me. Aro had used this same technique. Now, in just a few hours, the Volturi guard would reach Forks-reach Charlie-searching for me. Another tearless sob came from my chest.

I tried to pull myself together. I didn't have time to cry. I had to hurry. Charlie's life depended on it.

"I have to go." I said to Edward, though I knew the rest of the Cullens could here me.  
"What do you mean?" Edward asked.

Reluctantly, I tried to get out of Edward's arms. Edward saw what I was trying to do and put me down. I turned to him.

"I have to go to Forks. I have to show myself to the Volturi. Once they see I'm a vampire they won't have any reason to be there." I said.  
Shock appeared on Edward's face. He took a deep breath and his face became emotionless.  
"It's too dangerous, Bella." He said.  
"But it's the only way to save Charlie!" I protested.  
Carlisle appeared next to me and put his hand on my shoulder.  
"Bella, if we go to Forks the werewolves might find us. We've broken the treaty by changing you. If they discover us, the war will start." His voice was calm.  
"You don't have to come. The Volturi just need to see me, not you. You can all stay here." I said.

"You really think we would let you go alone?" Edward asked.  
"It's too dangerous for all of you." I said.  
"Exactly, that's why you should stay here." He said.  
"I'm not going to stay here and let Charlie die!"  
"I'm not going to put you in that kind of danger." Edward's voice remained calm, but I could see the pain in his topaz eyes as he tried to make me understand the risks. I knew what the dangers were, but I had no choice. I had to save Charlie.

"Edward, she's right. We can't just sit here while innocent people die. We have to go." Esme said, standing next to the couch where Alice sat.

"But what about the werewolves? We won't be much help to Charlie if we're busy fighting in a war." Alice said.  
"If we're careful we may be able to avoid detection by the werewolves." Jasper said.  
"We?" I turned to him.  
"Bella, you don't really think we'll let you go to Forks alone and have all the fun, do you?" Emmett said, a grin still on his face.  
Rosalie looked at Emmett with disapproval. "Maybe we can ask Tanya's family to help." Rosalie suggested.  
Jasper shook his head, "Not if we want to avoid the werewolf pack. Irina would go looking for them."

"We'll just have to make do by ourselves." Esme said.  
"Edward," Carlisle said calmly, "It's your decision." Everyone's eyes turned to Edward. I stared at him with pleading eyes.  
"Edward, please." I begged in a whisper.  
Edward looked at me, a mixture of pain and indecision on his face. Then he took a deep breath, closed his golden eyes, and slowly nodded.  
Everyone sprinted into action.  
Jasper ran into the kitchen-to use the phone and call the airlines, I presumed. Rosalie and Emmett followed Jasper into the kitchen to write Tanya's family a note. They'd have to tell them a fake story to explain our absence.

"They left to go on a hunting trip somewhere up north while you were changing." Emmett answered quickly when I asked where Tanya's family was.

Esme and Carlisle ran outside, probably to get Carlisle's black Mercedes so we could leave quickly.

Only Alice, Edward, and I were left in the room.  
My legs began to shake again. Edward took my hand and walked me to the empty couch across from Alice and sat me down. Then he sat down next to me. I continued to tremble.  
I had thought that-by leaving Charlie-I had been leading the danger that always surrounded me away from him. That the danger would follow me and leave Charlie alone. But, in the end, I had just been leaving him defenseless. He had no knowledge of what was coming, and he wouldn't know until it was too late. Another violent shudder ran through me. Edward wrapped his arms around me.

Everyone I loved was in danger: Charlie, Jacob, and the Cullens. I was about to lose everything.

I saw Alice on the couch across from me. She was looking at the floor, still shaking. I remembered the horror in Edward's eyes as he saw Alice's vision inside her head. What exactly had she seen? I probably didn't want to know.

I looked up as Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie burst into the room from the kitchen.  
"Our plane leaves in an hour. Let's go." Jasper said before running toward the front door. Edward and I sat up from the couch and Alice did the same and we all followed Jasper out the door.

Carlisle's black Mercedes was out front, Esme and Carlisle inside. The car's engine was on.  
Emmett and Rosalie climbed into the back. There was no more room.

"We'll take my car. We'll meet you at the airport." Edward said.  
Carlisle nodded, and then the Mercedes sped away from the house.  
Alice, Jasper, Edward, and I began running to the side of the house-Edward leading the way, holding my hand. There was a large garage where all of the Cullen's cars were. Alice's Porsche, Emmett's Jeep, Rosalie's BMW, and Edward's Volvo sat silent in the garage. We ran to Edward's silver Volvo and got inside.

I never relaxed as Edward drove the Volvo down the road above a hundred miles per hour. I should be going alone. None of the Cullens needed to go with me. The Volturi just had to see me and no one else. If Jacob's pack discovered us, the war would start. And if the Volturi joined the fight…it was too horrible to imagine. Either way, people would be hurt, or worse. People I loved.

I turned and looked at Edward in the driver's seat and panic flooded through me at the thought of losing him. I began to shake again. Edward saw and put one hand on mine and turned his head away from the road.

"Don't worry, Bella. I won't let anything happen to you. You'll be safe." He promised. His golden eyes were full of determination. I turned away; it wasn't me I was worried about. His hand left mine and returned to the steering wheel.  
There had to be someway I could protect everyone, some way I could ensure that no one got hurt. I had to get the Volturi to leave as soon as possible, before the werewolves could find us.

I looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was two O'clock am. Edward had said the Volturi would reach Forks in a few hours. I hoped we'd get there in time.

I looked out the window-thinking of what horrors awaited us-as we drove to our doom


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 10: War

It would've taken an hour to reach the airport had it not been for Edward's fast driving. We reached the airport in thirty minutes. Once we were in the air, all I could do was sit in my seat next to Edward and let the horrible images of what might happen run through my mind. I was so worried that I didn't notice that I couldn't smell the blood of any of the humans on board. Despite Edward's efforts to try and comfort me, I never relaxed. It didn't help when Alice-who had been resting her head against the headrest with her eyes closed-jumped up and said that the Volturi had arrived in Forks. I had begun panicking again and I wasn't able to compose myself until Edward and Alice had told me dozens of times that they weren't hungry yet and that Charlie was safe for the moment. Many of the passengers looked at me like I was a mental patient in a hospital.  
When we finally landed in Seattle, we had to steal a car again. We found a good car. It wasn't as fast as Alice's Porsche or Edward's Volvo, but was able to hold all of us.  
When we were almost to Charlie's house, my breathing began to quicken.  
I'm almost there, Charlie, I thought. Don't worry, you'll be safe soon.  
And then there it was, Charlie's house where I had lived for two-and-a-half years. I had my hand on the car door handle ready to jump out of the car the second it came to a halt. But the car never stopped. Edward-who was behind the steering wheel-kept driving.  
"What are you doing?" I asked him.  
"The Volturi aren't at Charlie's house, they've already searched here. They're going to the clearing where they last saw you." Edward answered.  
I felt horrified and relieved at the same time. Relieved that the Volturi weren't near Charlie at the moment, horrified that the Volturi had been here, and then relief again that they hadn't harmed him.  
Once we reached the point where we couldn't drive any farther, we all got out of the car and ran at vampire speed the rest of the way through the forest. Along the way I caught a scent that I couldn't identify, but I was pretty sure who's it was. I looked at Edward while we ran and he nodded.  
"They're here." He said, confirming my suspicion.  
The scent grew stronger as we got closer. Then we stepped out of the trees and into the meadow where the Cullens and the werewolves had fought together against Victoria's newborn vampire army.  
And there stood the Volturi guard-in their black and gray cloaks-on the opposite end of the clearing. They turned to face us at the sound of our approach. Edward placed himself in front of me as we advanced towards them.  
"Well, well. What's this?" I recognized Jane's voice. I stepped to the side so that Edward only covered half of me and I could see the Volturi guard.  
At the front was Jane, shorter then the rest of the Volturi except for her brother, Alec, who stood beside her. Behind them I saw Demetri, Felix, and Heidi, and four others whose names I did not know, but some I remembered seeing in the antechamber where our fate had been decided during our last visit to Volterra. But then I saw that there were not nine Volturi in the clearing. There were _ten_. Though her dark skin was now vampire pale and her green eyes were now bright crimson, I recognized her at once. Gianna's wish had been granted. The Volturi had turned her into a vampire-into a monster.  
"We've been wondering where you were. We were beginning to think you weren't here." Jane continued.  
"We've left this area. We now live up in Alaska. We're sorry for inconveniencing you." Carlisle apologized.  
"That's alright. Anyway, we were just coming up to check Bella's status. Alice had said that a date was set, if I'm not mistaken." Jane recalled.  
"Yes, it was." Alice said.  
"Well, then. I take it that she's been changed?" Jane asked.  
"Yes she has." Edward said.  
Edward then stepped out of the way so that Jane could see me, but he kept my hand in his. Jane's eyes focused on me. Everyone was silent as she studied me. Then she looked away.  
"So she has," she mumbled to herself, then she turned back to me, "Aro will be very interested in hearing that you're a vampire, Bella. Speaking of which, Aro would like to speak to Edward, Alice, and yourself about his proposition, of which I hope you remember."  
Jasper, who had been standing directly behind me, began to step towards Alice. Edward and Alice gasped at the same time. "Jasper! No!" Alice and Edward cried out in unison.  
But it was too late; Jasper was already at Alice's side-leaving an empty space behind me. Edward and Alice turned around and got into attack position, growling. It took only seconds for me to catch the scent. It was bitter and foul. I wondered what could smell so bad. I turned to see what it was and I saw the ten enormous wolves enter the clearing.  
Sam, his fur pitch-black, was the first wolf to enter, followed by a wolf that I hadn't seen since when he had attacked Edward in the meadow. The russet-colored wolf's eyes were still the same as when I had last seen them. But this time the hostile look in his eyes was mixed with pain when he saw me as a vampire for the first time. Pain and guilt ran through me. I had never meant for him to see me this way.  
I heard the Volturi gasp when they saw the werewolf pack. Horror flooded through me when I remembered what Edward had said before the Volturi's last visit:  
"_The Volturi do not honor truces with werewolves._" Edward had said.  
But now there was no truce. I had been changed. The war would start here and now. My family and friends would have to fight against each other. I looked back and forth between Edward and Jacob, both ready for attack. This couldn't be happening, not again!  
But I was a vampire now. I no longer had to stand on the sidelines and wait to see the outcome. Was there a way I could stop this?  
I looked back at the Volturi, shock on all of their faces as they looked at the werewolf pack. What would they do? Which side would they take? Would they even take a side? Or would they just stand on the sidelines and watch my family and friends slaughter each other?  
Edward put himself between the werewolves and me.  
"You have broken the treaty, you are not welcome here any longer." Edward translated, hearing the words in the werewolf pack's mind.  
"We will leave immediately. We mean you no harm." Carlisle said calmly, trying to keep the peace.  
The lead werewolf, Sam, shook his head.  
"We do not give mercy to our enemies. Especially enemies who have broken the rules." Edward translated.  
"We do not want to fight against you." Carlisle said.  
"You have no choice."  
I small scream of horror escaped my throat as Sam leapt through the air towards Carlisle. The rest of the werewolves followed his lead and attacked different members of the Cullen family.  
I expected Jacob to attack Edward. But the russet-colored wolf attacked Jasper instead.  
A brown wolf-Embry-ran at Edward. I gave out another cry of horror when he whipped one of his claws at Edward, but Edward dodged it. Embry and Edward began to circle each other, breaking the formation only once in a while when one would try to attack the other again.  
I tried to will myself to move-to help-but how could I choose a side to fight for? Every single person fighting was someone who I loved. Except…  
I gasped when I saw that the Volturi had joined the battle. They were fighting against the werewolves with the Cullens. The werewolves were outnumbered ten to seventeen. Oh, this couldn't be happening! It was the fight between Edward and Jacob in the meadow all over again! Though I was now a vampire, I was still just as helpless. All I wanted was for the war to stop completely, but there was no way I could make that happen. All I could do was stand and watch in horror as the war continued.  
Then I saw, in the corner of my eye, a light gray wolf running towards me. I turned towards Leah, as she got closer. I suddenly realized that I had no idea how to fight a werewolf in the first place. Fear ran through me as I braced myself for the blow.  
"No!" I heard Edward call out. In my peripheral vision I saw Edward ram himself into the werewolf's side-knocking him down and momentarily stunning him-and then he put himself in between Leah and me. Leah then began to fight against Edward instead.  
As Edward fought Leah, Embry recovered from Edward's blow. He ran at Edward to assist Leah. Edward was now outnumbered.  
I didn't care if I wasn't good at fighting, I could at least distract one of the wolves so that Edward would have a better chance. But I wasn't able to take a single step towards battle before I heard the screaming.  
My head turned automatically towards the sound. It was horribly familiar for I had heard it once before. But it was different this time. Before, the scream had been a scream of pain when he found out that Edward and I were getting married, but it was different now.  
Jacob was in physical pain.  
Then I saw that Jacob was no longer fighting with Jasper, he was now on the ground-writhing in agony-at Jane's feet.  
Anger flooded through me as I saw Jane smiling while she tortured Jacob with her mind. But anger was replaced with pain as I realized what I had to do.  
I looked back at Edward fighting two werewolves at once while trying to protect me.  
And I realized that I had never made my choice. I had only been keeping the official choice on hold. Though I had chosen Edward, a piece of my heart still belonged to Jacob. I had thought that that was how I'd have to live for eternity-a part for Edward, a part for Jacob. I remembered how Edward had said that I could have any piece of him I wanted-or none at all-whichever I decided. In this moment, I saw how wrong he was. I couldn't have both Edward and Jacob at the same time. I could choose only one. But by doing so I would be condemning the other to death. And if I didn't choose quickly I would lose them both.  
Suddenly the ghosts of the two holes-one made when Edward left and the other made when Jacob left-made themselves known again as each one awaited my decision, each one ready to tear itself open again. Both pieces of my heart screamed at me as I tried to decide whom to save. As the battle raged on around me, the battle inside my head began. The outcome of each battle would be the same. The fate of the war, and the lives of Edward and Jacob, depended on my decision.  
In the darkness of the night, the war continued as I tried to make the impossible choice.


	13. Chapter 13

Epilogue: Happy Endings

I couldn't believe I was actually here! It had been a whole year since I had been here. I had thought I would never be able to return in order to keep Charlie safe. But here I was walking up to the front door of Charlie's house.  
Carlisle had said a year ago that, because of my unusual self-control, I might be able to see Charlie. That was before I had crushed Tanya's front door knob and also smashed the coffee table into splinters. Then he said we should probably wait until I was no longer a newborn and had gotten used to my new vampire abilities.  
When Christmas had come, I had called Charlie with the excuse that Edward and I were still trying to get settled in. It took a while to convince him, but eventually he gave up. Then summer had come and I told him that Edward and I were just to busy with school. Charlie had become very suspicious when I couldn't give him many details as to exactly why I was so busy. But when Christmas came again I was able to call Charlie and tell him that Edward and I were coming this year. Of course, Charlie was very excited. So, a week after I had called Charlie, Edward and I got into my new Audi coupe (Edward finally beat me and got me one) and drove to the airport. And now we were here, ringing Charlie's doorbell.  
"I can't believe I'm here!" I said to myself, though of course Edward could hear me.  
Edward was smiling, happy to see that I was happy.  
Then the door opened and there stood Charlie with a smile on his face. His smile disappeared as he looked at me, stunned. I had been afraid of this. I had hoped that I wouldn't look too different to Charlie. I had always been pale, and my gold eyes were just a bit lighter than before when they were brown. And the dark purple under my eyes could just be because of a lack of sleep, which was true. But Charlie noticed the change.  
"Wow, Bella. You look…different." He stuttered in shock as he continued to stare at me.  
I didn't care if he noticed how different I looked. I was just thrilled to see him. I ran up to him and hugged him, making sure I was gentle enough so I didn't accidentally crush him.  
"It's great to see you, Dad." I said as I released him.  
Shock was still on his face, but then it melted into a smile.  
"It's great to see you too, Bella. It feels like it's been a century since I last saw you. What's been going on lately?"  
I glanced at Edward, holding back a giggle. Edward was still smiling his beautiful smile. Then I looked back at Charlie.  
"It's a long story, Dad." I said with a smile.

Charlie, Edward, and I sat together in the family room talking. At the moment we were talking about college. Charlie was still under the impression that Edward and I were still going to the University of Alaska. Though of course we weren't. So we had to make up stuff as we went along.  
"So, have you made any friends in college?" Was one of the questions Charlie asked.  
"No, not really." I answered. It was true, unless you counted Tanya's family. Except for Irina, who was still upset, we were all getting along really well. But I was still glad we didn't have to live together any more. Instead, we now lived in a house near Tanya's house.  
We continued to talk until the doorbell rang. I looked at Charlie curiously. Charlie suddenly seemed uncomfortable, embarrassed.  
"Who is it, Dad?" I asked him.  
Charlie was silent for a moment. I looked at Edward. His smile was gone and his face was now empty of emotion. I looked back at Charlie.  
"Um, when you called I, uh, told Jacob you were coming to visit. He had wondered if he could come down and see you, and I said yes." Charlie finally answered. He smiled weakly, embarrassed.  
I didn't say anything. Jacob was at the door. The memories of the last time I had seen him, after the war, popped into my head. I just stared at Charlie with my lower jaw hanging. Charlie stood up.  
"I'll go answer it." He said before walking out of the room. I listened as he opened the door.  
"Hey, Jacob! Hi, Angela! How are you doing?" He greeted them.  
Angela? I perked up and listened harder, though I knew it wasn't necessary. I could already hear everything perfectly.  
"We're doing good. Is Bella here?" I recognized Jacob's voice, a voice I hadn't heard in a long time.  
"Yes, she is. Why don't you come in?" Charlie said.  
A few moments later, Charlie walked into the family room with Jacob and Angela, who were holding hands, behind him.  
I stared at Jacob's face. It seemed like forever since I had last seen his human face. But Jacob didn't meet my gaze. He was looking at Edward with discomfort and apology on his face.  
I had to strain my neck to look up at him. He was huge! It seemed like he had grown another two feet since the last time I had seen him human more then a year ago. I wasn't sure if that was just because I hadn't seen him in a while, or if it was because he really had grown.  
There weren't enough seating places, so Jacob and Angela sat on the floor-keeping their hands entwined. I wondered…  
"It's great to see you guys again. I've missed you. It was like you disappeared off the face of the earth." Angela said.  
"We've been really busy with college." Edward said with a conversational voice. I looked at him. He seemed to be alright, but I knew better then to believe what I saw. I hoped he was okay.  
Angela looked at us curiously. I wondered, if my suspicions were correct, if she knew everything.  
"Yeah, I was going to the University of Washington. But when I came down to spend the summer with my parents," She turned to Jacob, "I met Jacob at the beach. We fell in love and I decided to drop out of college to marry him," She turned back to us, "My parents were a bit mad. They thought I should get a good education first. But I couldn't wait."  
I struggled to keep my lower jaw from dropping again. Had I heard her right? Jacob and Angela were married? Had Jacob imprinted on her? Angela? Who'd have thought?  
I was taken by surprise when I felt a small twinge of jealousy. That wasn't a reaction I had been expecting. This was what I had wanted: For Jacob to find his soul mate, to be happy. Jacob seemed very happy sitting next to Angela. I shouldn't be feeling jealous, but a part of me was.  
Before I could stop myself, a question from the jealous part of me escaped my lips.  
"What happened to Ben?" Had I still been human, I knew I would have blushed.  
"Things didn't work out. We broke up." She didn't seem sad about this fact.  
"Hm." I tried to sound uninterested, trying to make up for the rude question.  
The conversation didn't last long. Nothing exciting had been going on lately, at least nothing we could say in front of Charlie. None of us spoke much. So, after a long moment of silence, Jacob and Angela stood up and said that they should get going. Charlie, Edward, and I began to walk Jacob and Angela to the door. But before we got out of the family room, Jacob stopped.  
"Could I talk to Bella alone for a moment." He asked, looking at Edward and I.  
I looked at Edward. Worry was on his face, but he nodded. Then Charlie, Edward, and Angela left the room-leaving Jacob and I alone.  
"You imprinted on Angela?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I was right.  
"Yep." Jacob answered simply.  
"Wow." I muttered.  
It was silent for a moment, but then Jacob started talking quickly as if we only had a few more seconds to talk.  
"Oh, Bella. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. I'm sorry for attacking Edward. I know you love him. It was just so hard for me to except that you chose him over me. I know I shouldn't have interfered, but I couldn't just stand there and let him bite you. He could have killed you. I would have died if that had happened to you. I was only trying to protect you. But that's no excuse. I'm so sorry. I wanted to apologize sooner, but I didn't want to make you upset. But when you left, I couldn't sleep. I was always wondering what had happened to you. It nearly killed me, not knowing. I'm so sorry!" He said in a rush.  
"Jacob," I stopped him. Why was he apologizing? That was what I was supposed to be doing, "It's alright. Edward's fine. I know you were just trying to stop Edward from biting me, though that wasn't what he doing, but it's alright. I forgive you." I smiled, trying to make him feel better.  
Jacob looked at me with a confused expression, "He wasn't about to bite you?" He asked.  
"No, he was just…" Would it hurt him if I told the truth? I didn't know. But he deserved to know, at least, "kissing me. You know?"  
His confused expression was replaced by guilt and embarrassment.  
"Oh." Was all he said.  
"But I had one question. Why didn't you burn him?" I asked.  
"Well, I realized what I had done and I knew it would hurt you. I hoped those legends of vampires being able to put themselves together was true. Turned out they were right." He answered.  
Neither of us spoke for a moment. I could tell that Jacob was uncomfortable in the silence. He looked at the floor.  
"Well, that was all I wanted to say. So, I guess I better go now." Jacob said, breaking the silence.  
Before I could stop him, Jacob left the room. I ran after him.  
I had to slow down to a human walk once I was out of the family room. When I reached the front hall I saw Jacob with Angela about to leave out the front door.  
"It was nice having you over." Charlie said.  
"Thanks for inviting us. It was nice to see you again." Angela said to Edward and I when I reached them.  
"See you later." Jacob said, mostly to Charlie. Then he and Angela walked out the door.  
"Wait!" I let go of Edward's hand and ran to Jacob. Jacob stopped and turned towards me. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him.  
"Thank you so much, Jacob." I whispered in his ear.  
"Anytime." He whispered back. I let go of him and saw that he was smiling. Then his smile faded.  
"I'll miss you." He said.  
"I'll miss you, too," I said, "Don't worry, I'll still come back and visit a lot. I'll visit so much that you'll get sick of me." I smiled. That had been one of the first things I had said when I had visited Jacob in his house for the first time. Jacob's smile returned.  
"I doubt that. I've never gotten sick of you." He said.  
Jacob glanced at Angela and then began to reluctantly back away from me.  
"Bye, Bella." He said.  
"Bye, Jake." I said back.  
Then Jacob turned around and ran to Angela. Then they got in Jacob's Rabbit. I ran at human speed back to where Edward and Charlie stood. I turned around to see Jacob and Angela leave as I took hold of Edward's hand. Silently, we watched them drive away until we couldn't see them anymore. I turned and looked up at Edward. I smiled at him before bringing my lips to his.  
I knew that I could now be happy for the rest of my eternal existence. I would be with Edward forever, Jacob was happy, and I would be able to visit my mortal family. The dangers were gone. James, Victoria, Laurent, and the Volturi guard were all gone. Carlisle had told Aro that the Volturi guard had attacked us and had never told him about the werewolves. Aro had believed him, and Carlisle was certain that the Volturi would no longer be a danger to us. No threats lingered in the darkness. No more risks would have to be taken. No more sacrifices would have to be made. Edward and I could be together for all eternity and our love would last forever.  
As the sun shone down on us, Edward and I continued to kiss with a passion that could not be broken and a love that would never end.


End file.
